Can You Have A Romance OC?
by Ava-Connie
Summary: Challenge-fic. Can you have a Canon/OC pairing without it being a ludicrous Mary-Sue? I believed it could be done, and was challenged to prove it. Apparently, I also liked the idea of making things more difficult for myself and I decided upon my pet hate. Kaiba/OC. Can you have a fic without Mary-Sueness? This story is now on TVTropes for some unknowable reason.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: A while ago, I was challenged by a friend to prove someone wrong. They had said that all Canon/OC romances were Instant Mary-Sues.**

**And I suppose that this is my thrilling journey to do so.**

**~XxX~**

I was incredulous.

"We're doing what now?" I asked my Mother, still not quite believing what I'd heard her say a moment ago. For the fourth time in three months we were moving, this wasn't too much of a shock, after all, it had happened three times already. Unlike those times, however, we were moving abroad. Not merely a skip over the English Channel either. We were moving to _Japan_.

I had barely grasped the knowledge of chopstick use a year ago and speaking Japanese was utterly out of the question, as was any knowledge of even their most basic customs. The idea of moving there to live seemed at best, fantastical and ridiculous.

'_What would happen if I insulted someone?'_ I thought, feeling a mild swell of panic in my chest. Before my impending hysteria got too out of hand, my Mother raised a hand and set about attempting to assuage a few of my fears.

"Sophie, have I ever steered you wrong?" She asked before I raised an eyebrow, there had been a few instances in the past…As if reading my mind, she laughed and threw up both hands in mock defeat. "Okay, don't answer that question. _But,_ I'm your Mother, I wouldn't just leap into an area of the world we knew nothing about."

I leant forward out of the beige sofa I was sitting on and rested my elbows in my knees, deep-breathing techniques calming my pulse. I looked up after a moment, at my Mother opposite me on her red-leather chair, inviting her to keep talking.

"We'll be moving to an English-speaking neighbourhood to live with your Aunt on your Father's side, you remember her right?" I frowned at her words, trying to place the memory, I hadn't come into contact with any of my paternal relatives after the divorce five years ago. I shook my head and Mother took the hint, elaborating. "The one with the unfortunately bleached hair and the two kids?" I choked on thin air as I laughed at her description. Regardless of her job as a Real Estate Agent, my Mother held few punches when it came to describing people.

"Aunt Sandra and the terrible twosome?" I asked, nodding along with my words as memories came to the fore, "how could I even forget them?"

Mum snorted at my words, levelling a serious look at me before speaking. "I've already enrolled you into a school."

My good humour vanished in a flash.

"_What?" _I nearly shrieked, bombshells were dropping left, right, and centre. "Mum, no! You _know_ what I'm like with schools! There's a _reason_ you took me out of my last one in the first place..." Whining wasn't my usual weapon of choice, but it was true. She had removed me from Formal Education when I was thirteen, the reasons why were numerous but boiled down to me spending three months in hospital and the expulsion of an older student. They weren't the happiest memories.

"I'm perfectly aware why I removed you from that environment, I _was_ the one who did it after all." She pursed her lipsticked lips at me, vaguely amused. "But I was hoping that you weren't so _precocious_ anymore. What happened was horrendous, but you had your own part to play in it."

I sighed, defeated, and slumped back into the sofa. She was right, unfortunately. I had been an obnoxious and mean-spirited person three years ago, all too easily influenced by people around me. My words were laced with weariness. "Okay. I'll try and reign it in, but if you get a call from the school telling you that I've made a break for freedom-"

Mum smirked and rolled her eyes, "I'll pay the bail money."

**~XxX~**

Four months after that conversation and we were leaving a long-haul plane flight. Unfortunately, the only movie that had been available the whole time was "Mamma Mia!" A development sure to take its toll on any sane person, let alone on my sleep-deprived brain. Five hours after arrival and we stepped into the cool night smog of Japan's Westernised neighbourhood.

One thing I could say about Japan so far, you could throw a javelin at the sky and it would stick there. I thought living in London was bad, here, you couldn't move for people. Not to mention neon signs that blinded and buildings so tall that _everyone_ had an inferiority complex.

"Did it really need to be _that_ long?" I moaned, talking about our trip through Customs & Excise. My Mother shot me a look that was a mixture of amusement and annoyance.

"No. No it didn't, but I really don't think that they appreciate sixteen-year-olds talking to them like they're children." I scoffed at that, attempting to hide my smugness but failing.

"Oh come on. 'Have you ever been a part of a Terrorist or Subversive Organisation?' _Really?" _I rolled my eyes, "And a Terrorist is going to say what? 'Yes. Yes I am. Oh confound you, you sneaky, sneaky questions. If only I knew how to fool you.' I mean seriously." A disgusted noise came from the back of my throat. "Do I look like I could do anything other than accountancy in this outfit?" I gestured to the black three-piece suit I was wearing, exasperated. Mother wore one nigh-on the same as mine in cut, save for the fact that hers was beige and she swapped trousers for a skirt. I looked over at her as we sat down on one of the hard plastic benches to rest a little after our grilling.

"Yes, but if you'd just answered them like a respectful-" I snorted, she laughed, "-My point exactly."

"What? Photography Club is a valid subversive organisation. They meet often and in darkened rooms." Mum laughed loudly at my words, throwing her head back and letting her red hair out of it's bun as she did so.

"Okay, I'll give you that, but they wouldn't have had to have _kept_ us there for _four_ more hours had you _not_ have said that, 'Due to you being the vice-president of the London chapter of a fanclub, you knew how to kill a person without any forensic evidence being left.'" She glanced back at me, smirking slightly, before motioning for me to get up and continue moving towards the exit of the airport.

"In my defence," I answered, my best 'rational' voice in place, "I was just quoting a character, they didn't have to take me so seriously."

"It's their _job_ to take things like that seriously."

"Yeah yeah..."

As Mum sheparded me towards an idling taxi I dragged my small black luggage case out onto the street behind me, trundling it over the feet of several Japanese businessmen by accident. I winced and waved an apology at them, silently resolving that my Japanese vocabulary needed an awful amount of work.

The scrawny taxi driver shocked both my Mother and I by lifting mine and her luggage cases, plunking them into the boot of the car before he re-seated himself as we were buckling ourselves in.

"Uhm," Mum consulted a scrap of paper that she held between her immaculately manicured nails, "Domino City? Muzi Road?" She asked, not knowing whether or not the man spoke English. He showed no sign of understanding until he pulled out into the busy street. Lights crept slowly past us as the night-time traffic oozed along the road. I turned to talk to Mum but saw that she was texting someone at high-speed, scuppering my plans. My Mother was _ever_ the businesswoman. It was the main reason for our moves, her work as an estate agent. That's how she got her paws on the previous places we lived before anyone else _and_ it was also the reason why she was switching to talking on her mobile.

"Yes-no-I think so-well, could we-" and so-on. I tuned her out and decided to look out of the window on my side, finding quickly that even at one in the morning the streets were still packed and the neon lighting doused the place in a weird, multicoloured light. All the buildings blended into one another after a while, a delightful grey smear outside the taxi windows.

Apart from one.

As we left the hustle of the airport behind and neared our destination, Mother was still arguing with a client and I was still staring aimlessly out of the window, my forehead resting on the cool glass as my eyes began to burn from lack of sleep. A single building caught my eye and made me sit up a little straighter in my seat. The main reasons were the three massive dragon statues flanking the entryway, a curious addition to any building. The taxi halted at a red light and I eyed the building suspiciously. Something about it jarred me for some reason, the _architecture_ jarred me. Being the daughter of a lifelong property saleswoman, I noticed architecture. It was only as we pulled away from the building that I noticed why something disconcerted me. There was full size arena on the roof, visible from even as far below as us.

"_Idiocy_." I muttered. I hadn't actually realised that I had said it aloud until I heard the driver start sniggering at me. Frowning, I pursed my lips and eyed the man. What was so funny? Voicing this question gained me a wink in the rearview mirror for my troubles, shrugging I looked back out of the window for just long enough to catch the name on the front of the building. 'Kaiba Corp'. I was dimly aware of a bell ringing at that piece of information, but it didn't yield anything interesting.

I resigned myself to continuing to gaze listlessly out of the window for the rest of the hour, contemplating what life here was going to be like, and how I'd approach my first day back in Formal Education.

**~XxX~**

"_Sophie Grace McCallaghan!_" I jumped out of my quick nap in the back of the cab to the sound of a familiar Chicagoan accent, no doubt waking up the entire street with her over-the-top theatricality. I yawned, stretched and exited the car, bracing myself for impact as Mum paid the driver in Dollars, a currency I hadn't imagined being used in Japan. I was subjected to a heavily perfumed, tall and straw-blonde-haired woman pulling me into a crushing hug for my troubles. I loved her, but there were certain personalities my generally laconic one screamed and ran away from.

"Oh! I haven't seen you in so long! You've gotten so tall! Your hair's so red! You look just like your Father!" I had been standing limply, arms awkwardly patting her back and shooting dagger glares at my Mother for laughing silently as Sandra spoke, but we froze at the mention of my Father. I pulled back from the hug and opened my mouth to make a scathing remark but caught the look Mum was giving me. It clearly said told me to roll with the mention. I sighed heavily and forced a casual tone to my voice.

"There's…still bad blood there, could we...?" I gestured to the house. Sandra looked at me pityingly and shot an empathetic glance at Mum, who was smiling tightly at her.

"Yes. Yes darling, of course." She led the way while speaking as I trailed along behind her, whispering to Mother.

"Why can't I tell her that I hate him?" I asked, my Mother shook her head.

"He's still her brother, even if he _we_ dislike him, _she _is entitled to her 'he made a mistake' mantra." I snorted at her words, hiking my suitcase up over the doorframe and into the cosy-feeling family house of Sandra Jane Dosey. A quick look around and for the first time in a new country I felt out of place. The irony that it came, not as I was in the actual _city,_ but as I entered the place that was meant to be my new home was not lost on me. I felt out-of-place in the 'Country Farm' atmosphere that the interior decorating radiated and I could tell that Mum was feeling it too. The places we usually lived were minimalisticly decorated. Cream walls, beige carpets, and black bedspreads. We were unused to ducks on the wall, a plastic fire glowing away, small roses bespattered on cream wallpaper, and green Winsor-backed chairs with tassles hanging from them.

I _loved_ the look of it.

But it just wasn't me.

Ever since removing me from school, I had formed an even closer bond with my Mother. She went from being family, to a best friend at the same time. But we were a generally understated duo, with stream-lined everything, sarcastic chatter, and a minor library no matter where we lived. This, even from its look, was clear it housed a happy, sing-around-the-campfire, family of three who still obviously kept the memory of their Father alive through photos above the fireplace. I sighed, tuning back into whatever the ex-Sisters-in-Law were talking about.

"Oh Josie, you should have seen it last year, the Azaleas were in full bloom, all of them were a pink, I have no idea why, last year they were blue, but this year they looked so pretty!" I rested my luggage case against the open-plan kitchen counter as a snippet of knowledge surfaced at her words. Gardening wasn't my forté, but I at least knew this much.

"Oh," I said, looking to Sandra and away from one of the ducks, "That'd be the soil, Azaleas are special like that. They turn blue if the PH of the soil is more alkali than acid. My guess is someone changed their fertiliser and it changed the PH of the soil." I glanced at the pitch-darkness outside as I spoke, feeling vaguely self-conscious for some reason. "That's why it resulted in you getting different coloured flowers." Sandra smiled at my answer, or at me. I was unsure when it came to her, forever warm and bubbly.

"You see! Having you two around will even help my gardening! Where'd you learn that? I don't imagine you watching a gardening program." She laughed a little after speaking and I smiled slightly at her infectious attitude.

"Gran, actually-" I halted a second before pushing through the minor voice-break. "Gran told me a while back." There was something a little wan about mentioning her, she'd been the best person I knew until she died a few years back and I missed her dearly. Sandra smiled at the memory of my Mother's Mother and went back to talking to Mum about the garden and the area we were now in. I filled a kettle and switched it on before excusing myself from the kitchen to unpack. It was three in the morning and I just _knew_ those two could talk for _hours_. I lifted my case up in the air for three feet before plonking it onto the third step of the staircase that led to the first floor. This would take some time and a lot of upper body strength.

I had perhaps equal amounts of both.

**~XxX~**

**Thud.**

**Thud.**

**Thud.**

**Thudunk-screek.**

I finally reached the landing of the first floor without incident or breath, who'd have thought that forty-six stairs could be so gruelling? Noting the three doors on this floor and the staircase leading up from the end of the dusky pink hall, my guess was that Mum's and Sandra's rooms were up there. Mine had been clearly sign-posted with a post-it note and appeared to be between the twin's rooms.

'_Lovely.'_ I inwardly cursed my Aunt for doing this to me. I loved my cousins, but they were energetic and I was, as a rule, generally awkward around children. I opened the door as quietly as possible and sighed, pleased.

This room was my heaven.

Cream walls, sparsely decorated, and a wooden desk on one side of the room with a bookshelf on the other. Sandra was obviously leaving me space to decorate for myself, but I felt a surge of gratitude for the woman who knew at least enough about me to shy away from plastic ducks in this room. I made my way to the middle of the room and sat on the black bedspread of the single bed, lying on my back and feeling a few cricks as I did so. The only downside to me seemed the adjoining doors on two parallel walls. I supposed they led to either twin's room, a vaguely unwelcome thought.

"Thank you Sandra." I whispered, trying not to wake the bat-eared girls as I rose with mild difficultly and knelt beside my case, unzipping it as quietly as I could muster and taking out the four things I had packed into it. My laptop, my books, a few clothes and a framed picture of my Great Dane dog, Sasha, who was currently in quarantine. She'd be through in six months, and I awaited that day with baited breath. Placing the picture on the side-table to the left of my new bed, I set about putting everything in a decent location. The rest of our possessions would be arriving in three months time, but I had brought with me the things I knew I needed the most. Just after I finished hanging up the clothes I had brought with me in the railing wardrobe on one side of the room I heard one of the linked doors open and light feet move across the beige carpet. I turned to face the sound.

"Soso..." A very tired, very blonde, very sweet little girl of only five trundled up to me in a post-sleep daze and looked up, dragging her teddy behind her. The poor bugger was missing an eye, an ear, and was worn in places I didn't even know could wear, but my youngest cousin hadn't let him go since she was born.

"Yes, sweetheart?" I asked, crouching in front of her and warming my voice up a few notches from my usual terseness.

"Are you living with us now?" She asked quietly, hugging her teddy to her chest. I smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Yes, Chloe. I am. So is your Auntie Josie, actually. Do you mind?" I asked, feigning feeling put-out, the little blonde girl shook her head quickly and smiled, waking up a little.

"I'm happy that you'll be here! Is Sasa coming too?" She asked, lisping over the 'sh'. I nodded and then faked a frown.

"Shouldn't you be in bed, little missy?" I asked her, ruffling her hair and then inspecting my hand, the frown real this time. '_Why is her hair sticky?'_ I decided not to pursue that train of thought lest it lead to something I'd rather not know, instead resolving to bleach my hands off in the bathroom downstairs the second I got her back to bed. Chloe nodded her head as I steered her back to her room, telling her goodnight and then closing the door. I quickly searched for a lock on the door to no avail. Apparently that was a feature that only extended to the main door of my room. Instead I wedged the desk chair under the doorknob that led to Chloe's room and the handle to my suitcase under the doorknob of the one that led to Sunny's room. Not wishing to encounter the small children again. I loved them dearly, but my interactions with anyone under ten generally left me feeling more than slightly awkward.

I followed up on my earlier resolvement and headed to the bathroom.

**~XxX~**


	2. Chapter 2

**~XxX~**

A week later and I woke up to the insistent beeping of my mobile alarm and reluctantly left my warm quilted cocoon, fumbling with the buttons at five 'o' clock in the morning I succeeded in phoning a takeaway place in London, my Mother downstairs, and the library in Wimbledon I had worked at before I finally hit 'Sleep'. Yawning, I made my way out of bed, surprised that I'd actually slept for longer than two hours.

I stood and looked around my room, still sparsely decorated, and wandered over to my clothes rack, selecting the school uniform. I had asked for the boy's uniform due to my insecurity in a skirt, apparently a commonplace request. I pulled them on and ran a brush through my short hair, cursing my Scottish ancestors for their stupid frizzy genes as I did so, I was only glad that my Spanish side, at the very least, made sure that I wasn't pale or easily sunburnt.

Reaching under my bed, I frowned. Usually I wore my work heels, but these days I wasn't aiding my Mother in Real Estate. I sincerely doubted that at a Japanese State School, I would be able to get away with wearing red, two-inch heels. I rummaged around in my suitcase for the black pumps I used for lounging and slipped them on, they'd have to do. At the very least they looked presentable. I grabbed my laptop from my desk and threw it into my messenger bag before taking it downstairs with me. The refurbished laptop was the only real reminder of the days when my family unit consisted of more than just my Mother and I, and perhaps keeping it was a sentimental choice rather than a technological one.

I bolted to the kitchen, grabbing some bread out of the fridge and slamming it into the toaster as I looked at the clock, 5:30am. I was still on time, at least. Relaxing a little I started to scrabble around the cupboards, looking for my saviour and became increasingly more frantic as I couldn't find it.

"Coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee," I muttered under my breath in a continuous stream, mildly concerned that Sandra didn't seem to own any.

"Mommy doesn't like coffee, she says that it's the reason people don't have enough calcium in their bodies." I heard a small girl's voice from behind me and I glanced over my shoulder, rolling back onto the base of my feet from their tip-toed position.

"Heya, Sunny." I greeted her with what I hoped was a pleasant tone and not laced with annoyance, "Why're you awake so early?" I decided to not insult her Mother's coffee-based beliefs in front of her. The brunette sister of Chloe grinned at me in a manner that made me sure she was going to go for my throat, my hand twitched subconsciously towards it.

"I had candy last night, I didn't sleep." I raised an eyebrow at her. Definitely related to me, sneaky, clever and proud of it. These kids weren't allowed sweets after six, she'd obviously hidden a stash. I laughed a little at the thought.

"Well, what are you doing now? Don't you want to go back to bed? At least try and sleep, darling…" I trailed off, trying to think of a good enough excuse to get her to go back to bed. "You won't be able to do whatever it is that Auntie Josie has planned for you today." I decided on lying through my teeth. Mum had nothing planned for them, but I didn't want to have to deal with a sneaky, clever, hyperactive five-year-old. Coward's way out and I knew it, but I didn't exactly care at the moment. Sunny's eyes widened and she ran back upstairs without a backwards glance. It briefly crossed my mind that she could get into my room, but I'd locked the main door and had the key in my bra. Not to mention I'd still wedged the chair and the luggage case under the doors too.

**Keerrrchuck.**

The printer in the hallway signalled it had finished its printing session and was now going to go back to sleep because, damnit, it was 5:30am. At the same time, my toast popped up. I snatched the bread slices from their cradles (burning my fingers in the process), and bit into the corner of one, venturing into the teal hallway and getting the sheet. I chewed thoughtfully as I looked it over before folding it and placing it in the right pocket of my blue school blazer. I snatched another piece of paper from the printer and dug in my messenger bag for a pen, leaving a folded note behind detailing my Sunny-related-ploy to my Mother and leaving it on the kitchen table before scrambling out of the doorway.

**~XxX~**

Arriving at the school in the space of an hour so that it was 6:30am as I looked up at the dauntingly tall bell tower. I had taken a few wrong turns and almost walked into a suspicious group of men, but reached it in time for the register.

You know.

If I could just find out where that was.

Re-folding the mini-map I'd printed and placing it back into my blazer as I walked through the doors of the school, I largely ignored all the other people milling around and going to their classes until I saw the reception desk. I placed my palms on the counter and cleared my throat to draw some attention my way. It wasn't strictly needed, I'm six foot tall and my hair generally acts as a beacon. It was a sad fact of my life that I generally hoped for inconspicuous arrivals and departures, but it never seemed to become a reality.

"Detention is down the hall on your left." The black-haired lady said to me, not even looking up from her computer. I forced a laugh and leaned a little forward, making sure she had to at least look at me.

"I'm not in detention-" '_Yet'_, my mind said, "-I'm new here, Could you tell me where I'm supposed to go?" This seemed to warrant a glance from the woman, she looked me over in a second before gesturing to a plastic holder with pamphlets in it.

"Maps to all classrooms and all extra-curricular centres are here. Have a nice day." Her tone told me to have anything _but_, but I nodded, feeling that I wasn't going to get anymore help out of her. Still, there was a slight feeling of comfort to be taken in the fact that it seemed to be a universal rule that secretaries were disinterested all over the world. Of all the things to make me feel happier, the curt secretary made me think that I may just have nothing to worry about after all.

Running my nail down the index of the pamphlet I reached the directions for room 1-B after a moment. West from the desk, then a left, another left, a right and it was down the hallway on the right

"Ooookay then..." I muttered, placing the pamphlet in my bag and chanting the directions under my breath as a mantra.

**~XxX~**

'_Why!'_ I was screaming in my head now, after I'd knocked on the door of room 1-B I was greeted by a nicely-turned-out lady of about thirty-something. She had then proceeded to wave me inside and tell me to stand at the front of the class and introduce myself. I took a deep breath, steeled myself and put on the face I used when Mum and I were trying to sell a property to a person with doubts. Smile, observe, adjust accordingly.

"Hi," I waved a little, "I'm Sophie McCallaghan, I've just moved here from London and…" I floundered momentarily, "I'm here to stay." There, short, to-the-point and I had noted the reactions of my new classmates. Bored, uncaring, curious, happy. Four different reactions, four different types of people in my new class. The teacher smiled at me and pointed out a seat in the third row, next to the window on one side and a white-haired boy on the other. I sat through the rest of the class in silence, answering only when my name was called out. The rest of the time I was looking out of the window aimlessly. I paid little attention to the lesson. At 16, I'd already gained my English A-Level. A hardly _unheard_ of achievement, but still better than average. I snorted as I thought that, it seemed to be the tagline for my life so far. '_Hardly unheard of, but better than average.'_ I considered this for the rest of the hour, waiting for the bell to ring before I could move onto the Sciences. My personal favourites.

**Triiiilllll.**

My prayers were answered as I doodled on the page I was using to note out the stanzas of the current module's poem when the bell rang. It was weird, having to answer to a bell. To be honest, the whole school environment was weird to me, however. I was used to having brunch at about this time with my Mother in a little café that we liked after a successful sale, not stuffing my books into my bag, drumming my pen on my desk and being generally bored.

It wasn't that I felt above such things, it was just that I had done all this before. Being home-schooled has its upsides, especially if you are being taught by a person that you inherently look to for education. I stood with the rest of the class and moved out of my seat, consulting the back of the pamphlet once more.

**~XxX~**


	3. Chapter 3

**~XxX~**

I was lost, that much was certain.

Unless Japan had one _hell_ of a ridiculous school system and held their Physics lessons in girl's bathrooms. A curious development, even given the fact that I now lived in the eccentric capital of the world.

I decided to make the most of my lapse of any sense of direction and checked that I looked okay in the mirror. Whether the move was narcissistic or not was lost on me, being raised to look presentable at all times was a useful skill for my first day in a new school in a new country. I looked down at my map after flattening my fringe against my face and found that it didn't have the bathrooms marked on it. I made a disgusted nose in the back of my throat.

"Pathetic bloody maps, not even having main landmarks on them..." I was muttering under my breath with annoyance, not noticing the person in front of me until I'd walked into them.

"Ummm..." Said the pretty brunette girl I had just shoulder bumped as I glanced up and instantly apologised, my British manners leaping over themselves to say sorry.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there!" I rushed my words as the girl smiled at my words and waved them away.

"You're the new girl right? Sophie? I'm in your class, Teá Gardner, it's nice to meet you but..." She paused, "don't you have a class?" I rolled my eyes and placed my head onto the white doorframe.

"Yep," I nodded, "But I'm as lost as possible. Could you…help me?" A frown as I thought of something, "And while you're possibly doing that, could you tell me why _you_ aren't in Physics either?"

"Yeah! Sure, it's hard to get to know where everywhere is in this place, you've got to keep in mind," Teá said as she lead me out of the girl's bathroom hallway and showed me what she meant, gesturing to the branching off corridors, "This place is built like a honeycomb, all ajoining hexagons and wrong turns." I laughed slightly, feeling my spirits pick up in the presence of this good-natured girl. Her friendly atmosphere was infectious and I soon found myself chattering away with her, finding out that she wasn't in Physics because she was on the Faire Committee and they were busy setting up for the end of quarter Faire in two weeks time. She expressed exasperation with her three male friends as they were, for some reason, more interested in some card game or another. Apparently it was big news over here, whereas I'd barely even heard of it.

Leading me to the door, she gestured deliberately-overly-theatrically and smiled. "This is the Lab sector, you should only be..." She checked her watch and with a Pavlovian promptness I checked mine, 11:17am, "Twenty minutes late?" She hissed through her teeth before opening the door for me, "Maybe it would be better for me to come in with you and explain why you're so late...being on the committee gives me a little sway with the Teachers." I laughed a little at her words.

"Oooh, abuse of _power_." I sang the last word at her, and she laughed too. Social grace wasn't something I possessed in droves, but Teá was easy to relax around.

"Well, it's for a good cause." She stated, shooting me a look of amusement as I stepped through the door and came face to face with a stern-looking man with eyebrows that took up half of his face. I almost visibly gulped before regaining my dignity and cowardly stepping out of the way before speaking.

"Sorry I'm late, I got lost." The man regarded me carefully for a moment before turning to Teá for an explanation. As he did, I looked around the room, noting two people I already knew out of a classroom of twenty. I tried to remember their names from the first registration earlier but failed miserably, I could remember one name however, Ryou Bakura. I planned to greet him at the next opportunity, just so that I knew there was someone here from my 'homeland'. His English accent had been welcome when I'd heard it earlier. The second person I noted was a brunette boy, sat stiffly in his chair. I inclined my head slightly after making eye contact with both of them, a polite, if silent, greeting.

"Alright, fine. Sophie McCallaghan?" I tuned back into the _real _world just in time to hear the Teacher ask me whether or not I would get lost again, after replying 'no' he informed me that I was lucky to have befriended the Head of the Student Body. I kept my amusement to myself and resisted saying that she was very easy to befriend, merely waiting until he turned his back to walk over to his desk before mouthing 'Thank You' and 'Head?' At her. The response I received was another smile and a half-wave as she left, no doubt to go and attempt to drag her three male friends away from their card game for long enough to help her get the Faire together in time.

My newest Teacher, whose name was scrawled on the blackboard behind him as "Dr Azari", looked at me for several seconds as he ran his finger down the length of a file, ticking off something and pointing at an empty desk in between the brunette guy and a blue-haired girl. I suppressed my inner eye-roll and smiled mildly at the both of them as I took my seat. The boy's eyes narrowed momentarily at me as he frowned slightly, I could almost _feel_ the sneer. The polite smile morphed into a smirk on my face as I narrowed my eyes back. Apparently someone had a stick up their ass.

"Class, today our topic is, 'Friction.' Turn your books to this page," Dr Azari wrote '194' on the blackboard under his name, "and read it through before I start asking and taking questions." He sat himself down behind his chair and stared around the room, unnerving me slightly. Was this what all Teachers did? Stare at their pupils like they was planning which one to have for dinner? I turned to the page regardless of my feelings on the matter and laughed a little inside, feeling slightly assured.

'_No. You promised your Mother that you wouldn't act the prissy, prim, precocious little know-it-all this time. That's what got you into trouble last time.'_ My conscience niggled at me, pointing out the flaw in my attitude. It was right though, regardless of others out-of-line reactions, my demeanour _was_ what got me into trouble three years ago.

"Alright, that's fifteen minutes, does anyone have any questions they want answered?" Several hands went up as I fretted the tiniest bit, I had been preoccupied with my small inner struggle than to read the pages. I looked down at the book, sighing inside as I read things I already knew. Well, at least I wouldn't be getting a detention on my first day.

"Sophie, could you tell me the coefficient of friction?"

'_Two cats sliding down a hot tin roof.' _"Mew, sir." He nodded at me and continued moving down his list of pupils, calling out their names and asking them questions. I took my water bottle out of my bag and drank a little, calming my nerves. I was always scared of authority and losing face in front of them. I took this, however, as an opportunity to memorise the names of the two people I was currently sat between. The girl went by the name 'Miho' and I found myself wondering if blue was a natural hair colour for her, considering her eyebrows matched. At the mention of the brunette's name I made a connection and received a small answer as to the previous and condescending look.

"Ohh..." I said under my breath, side-eyeing him.

"Is there a problem Callaghan?" He asked with deadly calm as I shrugged slightly, feeling the atmosphere shift to one slightly more antagonistic.

"Seto _Kaiba_?" I asked, "As in the building?" I nodded another slight greeting at him. "Does your Father own it?"

I've never been _especially_ good with people. I can hold conversations. I can somewhat comfort a grieving human. But my social skills have rusted to a standstill for the past three years, and I can only _really_ pick up on things and reactions that I've read out of a Psychology textbook.

I didn't need a textbook here to know that I'd said something catastrophically incorrect. The class-wide intake of breath with scattered giggles, the flaring of his nostrils and the narrowing of the eyes. Something happened _there_.

"No. _I_ own the building, and the company. You would do better not to showcase your ignorance." He sniffed and moved to look back at the blackboard. I frowned.

"I'm hardly _ignorant_," My indignant tone at his rudeness was something I hadn't had to use for quite a while. "I've never heard of your company. New to this country, remember?" I raised an eyebrow and smirked a little. "_You_ would do better to not assume, it makes an ass out of you to me." Part of me was happy to have a chance to exercise my sarcasm muscle, part of me was wondering why the Teacher wasn't on us for talking like this in class. There was a smaller part of me that was trying to _not_ blush at the unusual and sustained eye contact.

"I would prefer it if you didn't attempt to get one over on me via pathetic word breakdowns, Callaghan." He continued to glare at me. "New or not, you should know that I don't take kindly to fools thinking they know more than they do."

It was my turn to narrow my eyes and flare my nostrils like some kind of enraged bull, this wasn't how most people worked. I have a biting reply for most things, but in recent years I gained an emotional barometer. I tend to make sure I don't hurt others feelings, this guy hardly seemed to care. The exasperated look on Dr Azari's face told me to save whatever reply I had.

"Fine." I nearly spat the word. "But _I'd_ prefer it if the owners of ridiculous buildings didn't attempt to belittle me in return."

I, unfortunately, have an issue with people getting the last word.

"Quiet, Callaghan." He answered, smirking at me as I flushed in mild anger and hissed under my breath while the bell rang, signalling the end of the lesson. I refused to leave it there. I'm regrettably immature and competitive sometimes.

"What kind of company has _dragon_ statues outside it?" I said, lacing my voice with scorn as he stood to pack his bag and I did the same, finding out that I was just a little shorter than him, an odd experience.

"Ignorance. You don't even know a multi-billion-dollar, world-wide company when you see one." He left, tossing the remark over his shoulder as he did so and leaving me without time to reply. I looked down at my still unpacked book and pens, a slightly predatory smile appearing on my face.

Oh yes. I liked him. He would be _fun_.

**~XxX~**


	4. Chapter 4

**~XxX~**

Lunch-time, standing at the edge of a packed canteen with a sandwich in a little package and my water, wondering one thing.

Was it wrong for me to want my Mother?

She was a constant companion, and it was odd to be alone again...I'd become a stranger in a strange land again. Shrugging the impending insecurities onto the backburner, I looked around and noticed that my brand new adversary was nowhere to be seen, nor was the blue-haired girl that sat on my left hand side. I did see, however, my brand new acquaintance waving me over to join her. With a last wistful sigh at the memories of home and my Mum and I, I navigated the maze of tables and people towards Teá, seeing four people that I assumed were her friends playing the card game I had heard so much about. I stood to the side awkwardly for a few moments, eating my sandwich before I decided to throw caution to the wind and introduce myself, whether or not it meant butting in on the game.

"Hi, I'm Sophie." I held their attention for several seconds before they turned back to the game, the look they gave me made me think they were hardly being rude, after all, they smiled at me before turning back, but I could tell from the shoulder positions of the boys that they were taking their game seriously. I looked over at Teá, who grimaced, amused, and leaned closer to whisper to me.

"They've been at it for _hours_." She sighed, exasperated, before pointing to the blond. "That one's Joey, he's never really beaten Yugi at a game before and is really trying this time." I pouted my bottom lip, impressed at the tri-colour hair on the apparently unbeaten kid.

"I don't get it." I whispered back, frowning. "Is it like poker?" _That _appeared to get their attention more than my introduction.

"You've never heard of Duel Monsters?" The blond asked, incredulous. I hadn't expected the Brooklyn accent, "Jeez, where are you from?" He asked, apparently here this game was really _big_ news.

"Um, should I know it?" I asked, leaning forward and peering at the array of cards on the desk. "The artwork's good though..." I tailed off at a look from the shorter boy, Yugi, Teá had said his name was. I guessed that wasn't the correct answer.

"It's not the _biggest_ in Britain, I only knew about it from my Father's travels." Ryou said, leaning into the conversation and lending credence to my lack of knowledge. He struck me as a softly spoken person, and it made me a little happier to hear an English accent that wasn't my own.

"It's a game that's been played for millennia." Yugi said, his eyes lighting up as he spoke. "The Pharaohs played it in ancient Egypt, but now, it's a really good game to play. It's strategy, action and a test of character in one!" I regarded him for several seconds, coming to the conclusion that it wouldn't be good for me to call Teá's friend an idiot as I knelt beside the table, and begun looking over the cards before glancing around the table. After Teá's mentioning of it, I had figured that it seemed like a largely popular game here. Now would be the best time for me to learn the rules of this thing, I guessed.

"So, what now? Am I waiting for someone to fold or shout 'Snap'?"

**~XxX~**

"So _that_ fuzzball can beat _that _dragon?" I asked, pointing to Joey's Thousand Dragon card, kid's game or not, it was addicting to watch once you started. "I don't believe you Yugi." I shook my head, smiling as I did so, "Not unless you failed Math. _200_ bigger than _2500_?" He laughed and shook his head, laying some card or another facedown.

"No, I'm just going to place this card down and end my turn."

After I had asked my question, a sort of unspoken agreement passed between Joey and Yugi as they placed their cards back in their decks, shuffling them and starting a practice duel, teaching me the rules. I had to admit, Teá's group of friends were certainly accommodating, I had also learnt that Yugi was the proud owner of the title, "King Of Games", which was nice to say the least, what made it nicer, (to me anyway), was that it was a title he had won by beating Kaiba in a duel. I now had something to rub in his face the next time I saw him.

"The girl's right Yug, you can't get Kuriboh to beat my Dragon!" I still found it amusing when he spoke, American accents made me laugh in a vaguely delighted way, I wasn't used to them at all.

"Yeah, but Joey, remember that time with Pegasus?" The tall boy, Tristan, said. This was obviously a memory and a half, because Joey's face fell and he slammed his head down onto the table.

"Urrrggh...I knew it was too good to be true..." Joey groaned while Yugi laughed and flipped over his card, summoning something called 'Impostors', the Duel didn't last very long after that. While they cleared the table, I looked at the cards still on it for several seconds, aware that my classmates wanted to see my reaction to my first broken-down duel.

"I still think it would be more fun if you yelled 'Snap!' at the end of it." I stated, tone dry but certainly smiling. They laughed at that and I felt a little lighter, at the very least, I made some semblance of friendship in my first day. I hadn't insulted them, or been condescending at any point. A feat I was quite proud of.

"Oh look." Joey's head snapped up from the desk at the sound of a smug voice from behind me, and I felt my shoulder muscles tense in alarm as the cheery atmosphere shifted. "The mutt lost again, I'm not really surprised, a second-rate duelist such as yourself is easily beaten by anyone." Joey attempted to leap over the table but was held back by Tristan and Ryou, "Watch it Yugi," Seto Kaiba said scornfully as I slowly stood up from my kneeling position and turned round to face him, he was legitimately pissing me off now. "You should keep your mutt on a leash, he might bite someone."

Joey yelled some kind of insult at the other boy while I took the annoyance and anger at his treatment of Joey inside me and compressed it into a metaphorical cube, storing it away and plastering a saleswoman smile on my face instead of a snarl. "Hi!" I said brightly, already taking him a tad off guard with my chirpy attitude and half-handwave. "Yugi was just telling me about the time he beat you at a children's card game and got his title as King of Games!" Yugi hadn't exactly told me anything of the sort, Teá had, instead, informed me that Yugi had won such a title, and answered my question when I asked who he beat.

I got the desired effect, however. Kaiba's eyes narrowed at my kick in the pride, and his voice took on a dangerous lilt. "That was a fluke." He spat at me, "He beat me through _unfavourable_ techniques and if he bothered to tell you, he lost our next duel." He had turned all of his scorn and focus on me and what I was going to say next, not good for my nerves, but I held my ground. Teá bristled beside me and pointed a finger at him, accusatory.

"_You_ won that duel using '_unfavourable techniques'_," her fingers hooked round the words as she fought to not raise her voice, "You threatened Yugi with your death if he attacked you! You didn't _win,_ he _forfeit_!" My right eyebrow attempted to abandon my face as my eyes flicked back to looking at Kaiba and I pouted my bottom lip outwards in disdain.

"_That," _I pressed, making sure to lace the word with as much condescension as I was capable of,_ "_Sure sounds like an '_unfavourable technique._' In anything actually, let alone a card game." He death-glared at me for several seconds, attempting to force me to back down. Instead I straightened my posture, crossed my arms across my chest, and looked right back at him. If he wanted a scared and kowtowing classmate, he obviously wasn't the only one who didn't know the other's past. After what felt like a minute of this, he growled and turned on his heel, walking off to god-knows-where. I turned back to the people I had somewhat befriended and leant over to Teá, asking her a question as soon as Kaiba was out of earshot.

"Why the briefcase?" I was also vaguely concerned by his coat, which seemed hell-bent of defying all the known laws of physics, I resolved to ask him about such in person. This encounter had made me determined to make myself as much of a nuisance in his life as possible. He reminded me of myself, three years ago, and of how horrible I was. Teá shrugged and glanced over her shoulder at the area where he had disappeared off to.

"I think it's full of cards, or maybe it's got the latest Duel-Disk-System in it..." She trailed off at my look, lingering contempt melting away in favour of complete and utter confusion.

"You mean it's not played like that?" I asked, pointing at the table with the cards still strewn across it. Yugi shook his head at me, successfully calming Joey down enough for the boy to collect his cards and sort them, still muttering under his breath.

"No. Really, we only play it like this when we're here, otherwise it's played with Duel-Disk-Systems." Yugi shrugged as he spoke, "They're a kind of holographic projector, they read the cards and make a life-size replica in the air." I whistled lowly through my teeth.

"Expensive?"

Yugi nodded in answer to my question, "_Really_ expensive, but we've got ours from Pegasus's tournament." I frowned, it seemed a little much for a kid's card game, but after seeing how much the people here loved it, maybe there was a market for such advanced technology.

"So, of course, Moneybags bought the latest?_" _I asked, it seemed typical of his ilk.

"Kaiba made them himself, he's the CEO of Kaiba Corp. It's the manufacturer of the Duel-Disks _and_ the leading game's manufacturer on Earth." Ryou answered while looking at me strangely, as if to say that I _really_ should have known that. It was my turn to shrug.

"I was home-schooled," I explained, "The most gaming I got in was pulling an all-nighter once or twice to challenge a few friends to an X-Box playoff." I chewed the inside of my cheek a little, loathe to reassess my initial take on his 'spoiled rich kid' personality. "Seriously, the _whole world_?" I asked, reluctantly feeling more than a little respect for him. It certainly took intelligence to design, make and market a holographic projector that adapted to certain card-based stimuli. Not to mention to be the CEO of a major company at our age. I ceded what vague respect I could to him, but maintained my initial dislike.

The bell rang, signalling the end of our lunch break. Onto the next lesson, but this time with company.

**~XxX~**

The rest of the day's lessons passed without event, I found out a little bit more about my new friends and was instantly intrigued by the mention of a game store that Yugi's Grandfather owned. I leapt on the chance to visit after school had finished, and was now on my mobile as my four companions walked ahead of me, leading the way. Only four due to the fact that Ryou had decided instead to go home and work on his homework, a dedication I could wholeheartedly appreciate. Dialling my Mum's mobile I got her voicemail, not surprising, she was probably out with Sunny and Chloe and doing something that she hadn't been expecting to do at all. I laughed a little at the thought of my Mum, in her work suit, leading two hyperactive, clever, sneaky, bouncy, innocent-looking girls around a shopping centre or some such.

"_Please leave your message after the tone. __**Beeep..." **_I cleared my throat and fell into my phone voice.

"Hi Mum, sorry abut your..._situation, _but it was necessary at the time..._any_way, I'm going to the local gamestore courtesy of few new friends I've made. Yes, I trust them. No, I won't be home late. And, yes, I have my keys. Okay? Love you, bye!" The last four words were rushed as we had arrived at our destination, I pocketed my mobile and followed Teá through the doorway. She was already my favourite of the group by far, she was nice, pretty, intelligent and normal. Not to mention her friendliness was rubbing off on me. She wasn't trying to be anything that she wasn't, and I was beginning to respect her for that. Thirteen-year-old me would have scoffed at her values and thrown erasers at her head from the back of the class before insulting her and attempting to verbally crush her.

There are a great many reasons that I am glad I'm no longer that person.

"Holy..." I didn't even have the swear word to finish my sentence, the place was obviously well kept, but it was what it housed that drew my eyes. Games that seemed to be written in some kind of Moonspeak, esoteric games, cult games from the eighties that no-one could remember now, a weird, stand-alone hand that held three dice and countless other things dotted about the place.

"Yes." I said finally, turning back to Yugi, "Just yes. This place is fantastic in _so_ many ways. Honestly." Levelling my gaze at him so he could see that I wasn't just saying that for effect, he smiled and Teá dragged me over to the glass counter.

"Now we just have to find you a deck." She mused as Joey and Tristan joined us at the counter, pointing out different cards and starter decks, trying to figure out which one would best suit me. I frowned at that.

"What do you mean that deck is, 'not me'? I chose it didn't I?" I asked Joey after he shook his head at me expressing interest in the earth-based deck.

"Yug was right earlier." His hands groped the air, trying to find the right words. "Decks are kinda, a part of you in the deck, you make it your own and it shows what kind of person you are. Earth-based decks are loud and powerful." I raised an eyebrow.

"You really better think about your next words." I stated, the threatening chip back in my voice. He laughed before nodding.

"Yeah, but you aren't loud and powerful." He said, amused while I sighed. He was right, but he'd only known me for about four hours, how he managed to get such a clear read on me was mildly annoying.

"Well, how about that one?" I asked Yugi directly, pointing at a deck with the top card as a girl with long green hair, a green cloak and a staff with crystals on it. The card proclaimed her name as the Wynn the Wind Charmer. Yugi looked at it for several seconds before nodding.

"Yeah! The Wind deck seems more suitable, its not got very powerful monsters, but its magic and trap cards can really boost their attack and defence if used well!" I smiled and nodded at him, signalling that I'd buy that one. He went into the back of the store to find his Grandfather and I continued to meander around the store, listening to the other three talk about which cards they were going to get to boost their decks and wondering about any upcoming tournaments. In my short stay here so far I'd come to one certain conclusion. The card game was a social thing too, and I was hardly going to complain about that.

**~XxX~**


	5. Chapter 5

**~XxX~**

Two weeks passed in a flash, made to go all the more fast by Teá and I hitting it off nicely. She seemed to know that I wasn't meaning to offend when I seemed disinterested, it was just my default setting. Nor did she judge my social stumbles and dry humour. In turn, I was both a homework aid, and a female friend. Something she had been sorely lacking.

We did find a common ground though, both of us loving DDR. Unfortunately, only one of us was any good at it though. About three days after I met her and her friends, she showed me the arcade where they actually had DDR, I attempted it, but after several steps it proved too much for my lack of any form of dance co-ordination and I fell on my arse, laughing as I picked myself up from the hard floor by the handrail. I did however, spend the rest of the week humming the opening theme song and annoying my classmates greatly.

Speaking of classmates, or rather, one in particular, I had encountered Kaiba every day for the past two weeks. It was never such a locking of horns as the first time though, just frosty and vague civility displayed on both sides, we didn't have to interact much, so were saved the annoyance of each other's company. I had learnt my lesson, next time I wouldn't come to such a battle of wits so unarmed. I had been pleasantly surprised by gaining a social life at the same time though, so that kept me busy. Yugi and Joey were the main culprits, having taken it upon themselves to teach me every rule and move in Duel Monsters during our periods of time spent at the game store. I wasn't complaining though, technically I was being taught by the best and second-best duelists in the world, I just didn't seem to have the knack. I kept mixing up my Traps with my Magic and saying 'I Fold', a lot in utter exasperation. I had resolved to mainly watch the duels than attempt them myself, at least, not until I got some more practice in.

Teá had reminded me the week beforehand that the Faire tickets were for sale, unfortunately, one of my largest downfalls occurs around groups of people that number over twenty, so I didn't attend. I think it hurt her feelings, but I did my best to explain my awkwardness to her and we reached an understanding over smoothies, once more thankful that I had gained such a friend.

**~XxX~**

_**First Day Of Summer Break**_

5:30am; wake up, brush teeth, get dressed, run downstairs, realise that it's Summer Break, go back upstairs, get changed into something different, out anyway by 6:00am.

That was my morning, and the rest of my family hadn't even woken up yet. To fill the void school had left I had decided to fix my major problem in my life: its distinct lack of coffee. I was in the supermarket's coffee and tea aisle when my mobile vibrated in my pocket. I placed a Japanese brand of coffee down on the shelves again and picked up the Kenco beside it before I flipping my phone open and answering.

"Ja?" I replied in the only other language I was fluent in, knowing that only three people had this number and I didn't have to act business-like around any of them, Teá answered back on the other line.

"Sophie, I have a problem." She stated, not _sounding _too troubled, but a little muffled. Almost as though she was in a broom cupboard.

"Well, you know I'm not the best at helping people with problems, Teá, seriously-" I chinked the Kenco down in favour of Nescafé, "-I doubt I can help you at _all_. Unless it's with your Trig homework."

"Yes, I know _that_, but you're the only girl I know and I need to tell _someone_." The laugh was clear in her voice as I sighed and made my way to the checkout with one large jar of Nescafé. I shifted my weight and waited for the queue to lessen.

"Well?" I answered, trying my best to sound interested, it seemed to work, or maybe she didn't care.

"What would you wear if your best friend asked you out on a date?" Teá asked eventually as I snickered inside. So Yugi had _finally_ asked her out? Good for him, but I still couldn't help her. It had already been stated that my social skills weren't exactly _stellar_. Dates were firmly outside the Venn diagram of my experiences.

"Clothing?" I questioned hopefully, paying for the coffee and leaving the store, walking home. I heard an exasperated sigh-and-laugh on the other side.

"Okay, maybe you weren't the best person to phone under the circumstances." I nodded vigorously before remembering that she couldn't see me over the phone and answered 'yep' instead.

"Well," I sighed, attempting to make an effort at least, "wear something appropriate to wherever it is that you're going." I could hear the cogs turning in her brain, "Where are you anyway?" I asked, opening the door to Sandra's house and walking inside.

"I'm...in my closet, look, I've got to go. I'll see you later." The line went dead. I made my way to the kitchen and looked at my mobile with a frown. She'd sounded like she'd reached an answer just before she hung up. I wondered if she was annoyed with me? Was I being self-centred and paranoid? Was there sugar in that jar or was it salt? These questions buzzed around my head for a few more minutes as I waited for the kettle to boil and I taste-tested the granular substance.

_"Aaack."_

Salt.

**~XxX~**

I hadn't realised just how dependent I had become on school for taking up time in my day. Mum was at her work, currently selling a three-bedroomed maisonette to a couple who were concerned it was out of their price range. If _anyone_ could seal that deal, it would be my Mother. Sandra was out with the kids at their nursery/hothouse for young genii.

I sat in my swivel chair in my bedroom, spinning left to right, trying to think of what to do without anyone around.

"I could read a little."

**Spin.**

"But it's a nice day outside."

**Spin.**

"I could have a look around the shops."

**Spin.**

"But there's nothing I really _need._"

**Spin.**

"I could just sit here and spin in my chair for half an hour before I get dizzy."

**Spin spin spin spin.**

"I'm booored..." I moaned to no-one before slamming both my palms on my desk, levering myself out of my chair, and walking downstairs to grab my coat. I knew exactly where I was going.

**~XxX~**

"Come on Sasha! Come on! Sasha! Sasha!" I whistled at my black and white Great Dane through the mesh of the quarantine cage, she had already spent her three months in British quarantine and one here so far, now she just had to spend two more months here before I had my best friend back. She threw her weight at the mesh and attempted to snuffle her nose through the small spaces. I tapped her nose with my clladagh ring and reached three fingers through one space to scratch her behind one ear. Sasha 'woofed' happily as I crouched down to the ground to talk to her. I tended to talk to animals more freely than humans but they've never talked back. That's probably part of their charm.

"One of my new friends phoned me today, she asked what I would wear if my best friend asked me out on a date," I laughed and woke up a calico cat in the next cage, he looked at me lazily before going back to sleep, "My first thought was, 'that's kind of illegal' considering you're mine..." I trailed off, I'd never had the patience or the drive to keep a diary, instead my dog knows all my problems, but I didn't feel comfortable talking about the subject I wanted to broach in a warehouse full of other animals and three staff.

"I'm bored Sash," I said, sitting now and dropping my voice to a quieter volume. I had my back against the cage, guiding Sasha to sit too, "I'm not seeing Mum as much, which I know is fine for some people my age, but I'm feeling like I'm missing something during the day. I've made a few friends, but we haven't known each other that long and we'll probably drift apart. There's a guy I dislike. Sandra's nice but I don't really _like _her and to top it all off?" I looked over my shoulder at Sasha, splayed out on the floor of her cage, panting after exertion. "I've realised just how bad I am around people. I told a kid to 'screw off' the other day and he was only nine..." I trailed off and sighed. It hadn't been the best week. Getting up and brushing my jeans off from fur and dust, I patted the mesh of the cage once and left without another word, feeling a little sorry for myself but also resolving to work on my social skills. Stepping out of the warehouse I shivered and snuggled slightly into my green coat, I had obviously been playing with Sasha for a few hours considering it was almost dark, taking the main streets I reached the plaza a few streets from home in half an hour, knowing that I could easily get to Sandra's from there. That was until I saw Teá and a guy that looked a hell of a lot like Yugi along with a blonde and busty woman. Remembering my resolvement to be more social I steeled myself and walked up to them.

"Hey Teá...what're you doing here?" I asked, looking at her and then at her company, she turned away from staring at a screen on the side of a building to look at me, seeming a little shocked. I glanced around the plaza quickly, noticing something that had passed me by when I was otherwise occupied self-pitying, everyone seemed to have been looking at the screen. My guess was that I had missed something. _No shit Sherlock. _My brain scolded me for stating the obvious before looking back at Teá and her current company. Yes, the man _did_ look eerily like Yugi, but his eyes were different and he was taller by perhaps a full foot and a half. I opened my mouth to say something but was drowned out by the sound of a-

"_Chopper?" _I yelled. The sound of the blades drowning out part of my words so it sounded more like, "_Cho-er_?" A vigorous nod from the Kinda!Yugi. I choked on my next words as I saw who was hanging out of it, proclaiming that a new Tournament would be starting tomorrow, a new Tournament with new rules, new Duel Disks and only the best competitors.

Kaiba.

"_W-ll th-s is jus- ne-lessl- THEATRIC_!" I yelled at him from my position on the ground, he didn't hear me and I hadn't expected him to, it just made me feel better to yell at him for a moment, a vaguely cowardly move since he couldn't retaliate. The chopper roared away and the near-whirlwind the plaza was in slowed before finally disappearing, I turned to Teá as she started talking to the Kinda!Yugi and the other woman.

"Would someone _please_ tell me what the _hell_ is _**going on**_?" I shouted the last part, taking all my insecurities, fears and mixed emotions of the past two weeks and turning it into anger. "_What _the _hell_ was that about?" I gestured at the sky, "Who is he?" I jabbed a finger in the direction of the Kinda!Yugi, "Who is she?" I pointed at the blonde woman, feeling more than a little inferior about my bra size in her presence. I calmed down a bit while Teá looked at me in something akin to sympathy, I narrowed my eyes a little, what was there to be sympathetic about?

"Sophie, I don't think we can tell you _all _that you want to know _just_ yet, but this is Mai Valentine. She's a duelist. She came here for the Tournament Kaiba's holding this Summer." Teá said placatingly, as if I was a spooked horse. I huffed like a petulant child and turned on my heel before massaging the bridge of my nose with my hand, squinting my eyes shut and regaining my composure.

"You can't tell me, _all_." I stressed the last word sarcastically before catching myself and repeating my previous exercise, "You mean you can't tell me why _he_ looks like Yugi? Or why you're on a date with him?" I asked between controlled breaths, Teá shifted her eyes over to the man in question and winced a little. "No. No, it's fine, you don't _have _to tell me. I've just...had a bad day. I guess I took it out on you. I apologise." I sighed again and looked at the, now empty, sky.

"You're a bundle of fun aren't you, honey?" The blonde woman said, strangely enough I had anticipated her American accent just from her look, what I hadn't anticipated was the condescending tone to it. It didn't feel right being on the receiving end of patronisation, but I decided to let it slide for the sake of the moment

"_Hmm_." Was my lacklustre answer before I walked away without a backwards glace at my friends, only pausing to yell that I'd see them later, I wanted my Mother. And some coffee. And my emergency chocolate.

It had been a long day.

**~XxX~**


	6. Chapter 6

**~XxX~**

"And then she said she couldn't tell me _all_! _All!_ I didn't want to _know_ all! I wanted to know three things!"

I finished my exasperated recounting of what happened earlier on in the evening to Mum and was busy demolishing a family size bar of Cadbury's with her, she looked thoughtful for a few moments, chewing slowly, before she speaking through a mouthful of chocolate.

"Maybe he's Yugi's Dad and that's why she can't tell you, because you'd tell Yugi." The look on her face told me she wasn't serious with her answer. I bit into my half, chewing too before I swallowed and reached over to my milky coffee, downing half the mug in one go. It may have been two in the morning, but we hadn't really crossed paths lately and needed a catch up. "And then it comes out that she's his Mother and he's actually her son and then-"

"No! _Mum!_ This isn't _Talk Show_. At least, I don't think so." I paused and put down my cup before shaking my head, "No, I'm _very_ sure that they aren't related. _Plus_ Teá's 16, Yugi's 15, seriously, they would have had to have been _really _early starters." I shook my head, laughing slightly, "He didn't look old enough to be Yugi's Father…or Brother, I don't think." Mum snorted into her own mug of coffee before setting it down and finishing my thought for me.

"Then something really strange is going on..._hey_! Maybe it's the _aliens_!" I raised an eyebrow and leant across the sofa to smack her upper arm for mocking me, she laughed and threw a cushion at me, hitting me full in the face.

"There's no need to be so sarcastic about it!" I said, the irony of who was saying such to whom making me laugh again as Mum made a clicking noise in her mouth before looking at me.

"Hey, you had to learn from somewhere. But seriously, just ask again, if they're really your friends, they'll tell you when they feel good and ready." I paused for several seconds, mulling this advice over before nodding my approval, this aside, I couldn't resist a jibe.

"Since when did _you_ become Trisha?" Mum scoffed at my question, throwing her last cushion at me. This time I was expecting it and caught it, throwing it back at her. The war was on.

**~XxX~**

"How does it _work_?" I asked, holding Joey's Duel Disk above my head and inspecting the underside, while I had been sugar-twitching my way through the clean up of the stuffing strewn front room after I woke up, my friends, (who didn't seem unduly offended by my outburst last night), had been entering the Tournament. Well, Yugi and Joey had, Teá and Tristan, not so much. Teá's reason had been that she didn't really duel, preferring to be the moral support, Tristan's came courtesy of Joey, who ribbed his longest friend with recounts of duels that he had lost to him in the past.

"I don't know the _tech_, but you put your deck in this bit," He pointed to the suspiciously deck-shaped gap under a large red circle, "and place monster cards on top, the magic and trap cards go in the gaps under here." He pointed to seven flip-out gaps that appeared to take cards in the same way a vending machine took notes.

"But how does it project the holograms?" I asked, prying open the top with my nails and looking at the circuitry that ran under the part where you placed your cards, angling the motherboard so it caught the light.

"_Whoa_! Hey!" He snatched it back from me and clicked the top of the Duel Disk back into place, "Don't break it!" I laughed and patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't break your new toy." He shot me a look that was more amusement than annoyance, but still made me remove my hand.

"I don't know Sophie, I know there're projectors that come out of the sides, but you'd really have to ask Kaiba about that kinda thing..." Yugi answered, strapping his Duel Disk onto his wrist, he was cut off by Joey snorting, and Teá shot him a look of exasperation before we moved out of the alleyway, wandering though the streets before I asked another question.

"So what do we _do?"_ I looked around the plaza we had walked back onto, Joey put his Duel Disk back in its box before answering half of my question.

"I'm going to tell Serenity that I've got a place in the Tournament! I'll see you later guys!" He said before running off down a side alley, I frowned after him.

"Who's Serenity?" I looked back at Teá, though it was Tristan that answered me, which was odd, considering we had barely exchanged more than a few polite hello's.

"Serenity is Joey's younger sister." He explained, "She's just had an eye operation and she's in the hospital. Joey's gonna tell her that he's in the Tournament so that she can watch him duel." I nodded, not unduly surprised that Joey was a Big Brother. He gave that sort of atmosphere. I smiled politely at Tristan to say thank you, he unnerved me slightly, he wasn't nasty to me, I just got the feeling that he could, _more likely than not, _take me in a fight. My _"Fight or Flight_" mechanism was set firmly to flight.

"So. What now? Do we just wait around for someone to duel?" I asked, gesturing a little impatiently at the teens and adults that were milling around, all them with a Duel Disk on one arm, leaving me feeling dangerously under-dressed. I drew subconsciously closer to my friends, safety in numbers running through my head. Again it was Tristan who answered my question, this time accompanied by a laugh.

"No way are we going to have to wait long, Yugi's the 'King of Games', Duelists _always_ want to duel him." I frowned again, not seeing the correlation.

"But surely the very fact that he holds that title makes people think twice about attempting to beat him?" I asked, it just seemed more rational to stay away to me. Yugi shook his head.

"No, Duelists don't think like that, well, not all of them think like that. They want the title and they try to get it. It's all about the fame." He sighed in an almost disbelieving manner, shrugging at the same time, "I don't get it myself, I still have to do well in class like everyone else..." It was my turn to laugh, I didn't see the _logic _behind what the other Duelists did, but I now had a valid reason. _Human Behaviour_. The Psychology behind being called 'King of Games' was more of a superiority thing. Yugi seemed untainted by that arrogance though, which made me think that I was hanging around with the right crowd.

**~XxX~**

"What the _hell_?_" _I asked, stepping out of the coffee shop I had entered only moments beforehand to get myself said beverage, I had been in the shop ten minutes tops, but was now alone. In those ten minutes my friends had, in no uncertain terms, vanished. "_Damnit_..." I whispered under my breath, before slumping into one of the lime green chairs outside the shop. I fished my mobile out of my pocket, debating whether or not to phone Teá and ask where they were, something stopped me. It wasn't until I was sipping on my cooling latté that I realised why I hadn't phoned. My Mother's words were still fresh in my memory.

"_If they really are your friends, they'll tell you when they're good and ready."_

I contemplated this advice for several more seconds before draining my paper cup, throwing it into the recycling bin, and setting off in the direction that Joey had run. I figured that at the least, I would come across him.

I'd never really liked Talk Shows anyway.

A shrill whistle prompted a Pavlov's dog reaction from me as I ran towards it, into an alleyway. Three people were there, no-one I knew. I turned my back to continue searching when a voice I knew a little _too_ well began talking. Frowning, I kept the turn going, spinning 360 degrees on the spot in a strange pirouette. Fortunately for me, I was at the other end of the alleyway and close to the buildings on the right side, blending in almost. Due to my distance I only caught snippets of the conversation happening between, who I now realised was a mugger, and Kaiba. The black-haired boy at his side puzzled me as to his identity but it was a fleeting question, overtaken as Kaiba set _The Briefcase_ down on the ground in front of the mugger, revealing hundreds of cards, I inched closer to hear this development explained.

"-You beat me, you get every single card that you could ever want-" I watched as the mugger picked the cards up like they were fifty dollar bills, resisting the urge to sigh, the mugger was as much an idiot as his profession suggested. It was quite obviously a trap, even from the measly scraps of coherent, non-insulting, conversation that Kaiba and I had exchanged during class I knew that he wouldn't just _give up_ that many cards in a fair fight. He had to have done something to either rig _those _cards so that they were useless, or he had something that he was so confident in that he _would _willingly stake those cards on it. As I was busy juggling my thoughts from my hiding place, I watched the ensuing Duel with something just a little below intruigment. That was, until everyone in the alleyway was confronted by a seemingly 60 foot tall blue behemoth that came form Kaiba's Disk. I shrank backwards into the wall I was leaning against, finding that my 'flight' button was stuck in the presence of such an irregular monster. The would-be-mugger fell backwards in the way I was sure I would have had I not had the wall to prop me up, Kaiba sniffed scorfully at him, picking up _The Briefcase_ while the black-haired boy took the cards from the hands of the still shell-shocked man, separating what I guessed were the locator cards from the cards he had attempted to steal and handing them to Kaiba, prompting a smile from him. Another shock.

"Come Mokuba, we have a lot we need to do in preparation for the finals." Kaiba said to the child, who nodded as they made a move to depart.

"Sure big brother!" I almost lost some of my only-just-regained breath at that sentence, well, at least it now made sense as to why he wasn't being treated with the same disdain shown to everyone else, and why he had a whistle. Putting the new revelation aside for the moment I decided that if I was going to find my friends, I would have to swallow my pride. Stepping away from the wall and resisting the urge to clap slowly like a badly-written villain from a bodice-ripper novel, I made my presence known.

"_Hey! Kaiba!_" I yelled. Not one of my most adroit openers to a conversation, but it certainly got his attention, younger brother also frowning at me as he himself just glared before speaking.

"Callaghan. Were you hiding?" A smirk twitched at his lips and I resisted the urge to snap at him, remembering that I was going to ask him for a favour, shuddering at the thought.

"No. I was _covertly observing_, there's a difference." I took a deep breath as I stopped walking towards them four feet in front, "What was that?" I asked, deciding I'd ask a question I was more likely to get an answer to while giving him something to brag about that _wasn't_ the subject of my next question coming. He regarded me carefully for a second before answering.

"I don't consider you enough of a threat for me to withhold that information." He sniffed, but I saw the look in his eyes that said that he was proud of that card, "Nothing is a match for Obelisk the Tormentor." I raised my eyebrow, biting down on the pun I _so_ wanted to make, instead choosing to grit my teeth and look away, steeling myself. By the time I had done so the two brothers were in the street on the other side of the alleyway, I rolled my eyes and ran again, skidding to a halt beside them and bracing my hands against my knees, taking deep breaths. Once I had caught up with the two of them I looked up at Kaiba and Mokuba from my bent position.

"_That_" I said, panting slightly, "wasn't polite _at all._" I straightened, frowning at the expression of anger on the older brother's face and worry on the younger's. "What happened?" Urgency taking over all banter, Mokuba answered me as his brother barked a few orders into his Blue-toothed collar.

"Yugi's dropped off our maps, we can't find him and that's not supposed to happen." He said, at the very least being more polite than Kaiba. I turned to said brother.

"Huh, that's virtually what I was going to say before you walked off in the middle of our conversation." I braced myself for my next words, "I'm calling a momentary truce, I need your help to find my friends and they're always with him, we find him, we find the others, you find out how someone's beat your system, I don't ask why you've attached a tracking device to Yugi." He looked at me for several seconds, the tell-tale -thup-thup-thup- of a chopper approaching sounding.

"I don't take orders from you." He stated while I held back a scream of frustration, "But if you don't touch or screw up anything you can come with us." I frowned, he wasn't usually so accommodating, what was the catch? He looked up at the chopper as it hovered overhead, letting down a rope ladder with dangled between the two of us. He smirked at me.

"If you aren't scared of heights."

**~XxX~**


	7. Chapter 7

**~XxX~**

They say that you learn something new everyday.

_You're 're fine. You're fine._

Today I learnt something _very_ valuble.

_You're 're fine. You're fine._

A helicopter is nothing like an aeroplane.

_You're 're fine. You're fine._

For starters there's a lot more noise.

_You're fine. You're fine. You're fine._

There isn't a lot of room to move.

_You're fine. You're fine. You're fine._

And the main difference was that on the aeroplane ride here, there wasn't a Kaiba taunting me for his own amusement sitting next to me.

"I had no idea you were scared of heights...maybe I shouldn't have offered you-" He once more commented on my clear discomfort with a distinct lack of empathy, he infact seemed to be enjoying seeing me 'put in my place' , my head was down and my eyes fixed on my hands which were currently digging their nails into one-another.

"Shut up." I cut him off without even looking up, my voice shaking as I continued my inner mantra. I had climbed the rope ladder with no problems, I hadn't even looked down once, but the second I was seated next to the window I realised just how much I hated my current situation, especially since the helicopter sat only three. My head was down for two reasons, the first and most important reason was for me to control my breathing after seeing the window, the second was a tad more embarassing; due to the fact that I was sat so close to Kaiba, I was blushing an even deeper colour than my hair, the breathing was helping this problem too. Mokuba seemed completely disinterested by our one-sided sparring, opting instead to look out of the window and tap a rythm out on _The Briefcase_ as we flew to the KaibaCorp building., pausing once to ask his brother how long it would take before resuming drumming his fingers on the metal case. I heard Kaiba snicker at my tetchy answer before Mokuba's drumming stopped suddenly, followed by a slowing of the chopper and a shove in the arm from Kaiba.

"We're here, come on." Business now, taunting later it appeared as my head snapped up, I fumbled anxiously with the seatbelt for several seconds before hearing an exasperated sigh and noticing that he was pointing at a red button on the side of a bulky rectangle by my leg, I pressed it, smiled tightly and barrelled past him, out of the helicopter and onto the roof, breathing erratically. Mokuba walked past me carrying the case and made eye contact with me for a moment, looking a little sympathetic, he was followed shortly by his brother, who was calling ahead our arrival and didn't look in the slightest bit sympathetic. I wasn't really shocked. Once the door on the far end of the roof opened I straightened again and trailed after the two brothers into the shiny, florescently lit corridor on the top floor. It was only after I'd fully calmed down that I realised I had just been catching my breath next to the full sized duel arena I had called idiotic on my very first day here, I kept silent throughout our short walk to what appeared to be the tracking room of this Tournament until we actually stepped through the doors.

"I had no idea you had a harem Kaiba." I said, mimicking his taunt from earlier, my voice still a little shaky, but better now I had solid ground underneath my feet, he shot me a look of mild disgust but answered me anyway.

"I'm surprised you can talk and walk at the same time with all the blood in your face." He referred to my gradually fading blush, fortunately he seemed to attribute it more to my fear of heights than to his presence. "You're more intelligent than the mutt at least, but then, your inablity to bypass a simple children's-grade seatbelt makes me wonder if I should reconsider that statement." I frowned at him, thinking up a retort as he told one of the harem-dwellers to search for Yugi's tracker.

"I'll have you know that Vertigo is a universally recognised phobia which, among other things, impairs the thought process..." I paused for a second, "so _there_." I finished before turning to watch the women rushing around, follwing his orders and failing miserably. I coul _feel_ the raised eyebrow in his next sentence.

"'_So there'_? How old are you, five?"

"I'm seventeen in August..." I countered lamely, "Look, that doesn't matter, where're my friends and why can't you find them?" The atmosphere switched instantly as he moved across to a bank of computers on the left side of the harem while Mokuba set down the case and answered me instead.

"Yugi's tracker stopped sending out a signal about fifteen minutes ago and we haven't been able to track him since, we don't know why." He amended the last part of his sentence just as I opened my mouth to ask the same question, instead I opted for a different, but equally important, question.

"You've got a tracking device on his person? But how did you do that without his know-" I froze as the answer hit me square between the eyes. "You put a tracking device in his Duel Disk!" I yelped at Kaiba, completely disbelieving, "but, you couldn't know _exactly_ which Disk he'd buy..." I mulled the development over for several seconds before yelping even louder this time, "you put tracking devices in _ALL_ the Duel Disks?" I turned to face him, only to be confronted by a smirk.

"Hmph, it seems I don't have to reconsider my initial statement, but your deductive skills leave a lot to be desired." I snorted, still in shock.

"Okay, right, first-off, I got to the right conclusion didn't I? Secondly, _surely_ that's a violation of privacy? Or..._something_..." I tailed off, seeing that there was no point to me continuing the incredulity, he wasn't going to stop just because I'd told him to.

"Laws and great men..." He said, words dwindling as he concentrated wholly on triangulating the last known position of Yugi, I snorted again, this time turning away from him to look at the screen that dominated the far wall.

"Huh, didn't figure _you_ for Mark Twain." He paused from his typing, glancing over his shoulder to frown at me before looking back at the computer he was bent over and continuing to type at an unfathomable speed. I disregarded this before I looked at Mokuba, wanting an answer to another question.

"So..._why_?" I asked him, figuring that he would be more forthcoming and less smug with his answers.

"The trackers?" I nodded, "so that we can find Duelists when things like this happen, also, we use it to check on whether or not anyone's cheating. It helps 'cuz Seto needs six locator cards too." I had been nodding all throughout the description, slotting the information into the gaps that my uninvolvement in Tournaments had given me, but stopped at the mention that Kaiba needed locator cards too.

"What? But," I turned round again to look at him as he typed, "you're running this. Surely you've got an automatic place in the finals?" He shook his head, not even looking up from the monitor.

"No. That would be akin to cheating, I've got to earn my place like everyone else, like a True Duelist." I could _hear _the title capitalisations, but couldn't help my next comment, I was relaxing in their presence and speaking like I did when I was with my Mum, which was _probably_ a mistake considering.

"Right, I love you n'all, but you _really_ need to get a hobby or something." He froze again and half-turned to face me, frowning slightly.

"What?"

"I'm just saying, cardgames aren't everything, books are good, TV's fun...why're you looking at me like that?" I asked, my turn to frown as he looked at me strangely; it was like his features didn't know what to do on his face, he turned back to the computer and returned to typing for several seconds before standing back and looking over to Mokuba and I, who had sat down in two vacated seats on the opposing bank of computers. He cleared his throat.

"Yugi was last near the old arcade, Mokuba, you take Callaghan to the area and see if you can find his _interminable_ friends too." I rolled my eyes to the Pleiades as I stood.

"We aren't _interminable, _we're _nice_." I paused, "well, _they're _nice, I'm learning _from_ them." Mokuba nodded to his brother, running out of the sliding doors and down the hallway, to what I supposed would be the lifts with an eagerness I couldn't match, "thank you." I said, nodding my head at Kaiba and running after his brother.

I facepalmed as soon as I was in the lift.

"_That._" I said, drawing a mildly amused look from the younger brother and dragging my hand down my face, "Could be misconstrued..."

**~XxX~**

"TEÁ!" I yelled at the girl in the yellow top, breaking stride with a now walking Mokuba and ambush-hugging my friend, she patted my back awkwardly as I stepped back from her.

"What...was that about?" She asked me, frowning slightly and obviously fearing for my sanity, I rolled my eyes.

"You guys all left! I was in the coffee shop for, like, five minutes and you'd all buggered off by the time I came out! I had to seek help from _Kaiba_ to find you!" I was gesticulating wildly at nothing in paticular before Yugi's Grandfather cut me off.

"You're looking for Yugi too? Have you found him?" I opened my mouth to tell him that he was in the area, but Mokuba explained instead.

"Seto tracked him to here, have you seen him?" Teá shook her head.

"No, the last time we saw him he followed a Duelist into a magic-trick box and disppeared." I took a step back from Teá, the roles reversed as I wondered about _her_ sanity.

"I'm sorry, are you saying that Yugi was _magicked_ away by a mysterious Duelist?" I mimicked Jimmy Carr's disbelievement move, fingers pointed to the sky, palms pushing forwards, Teá nodded. "Ber~illiant..." I elongated the first syllable and massaged the bridge of my nose to stave off the approaching headache, I was snapped back to the current situation by Mokuba yelling that the tracker had just come back online. I groaned as I watched my friends and even Yugi's Grandfather, run after the signal.

_"More_ running..."

**~XxX~**

Seeing Yugi sitting in an energy-disk ringed arena with what appeared to be a dead magician in front of him wasn't _exactly_ what I had expected for just a little after midday. As we had been running I decided to keep pace with Teá, who told me what had happened in my forced absence, Joey had had his Red Eyes stolen by a guy in a purple cloak, Yugi had dueled the man and won back Joey's card, Joey then insisted that Yugi kept it; instead staking his Time Wizard in the Tournament. I listened to this re-counting with increasing incredulity, but frowned at the explanation the Joey had given Yugi for not wanting his card back.

"'_In the spirit of a True Duelist_?'" I'd repeated after she'd told me, "what is wrong with some people..." I muttered, too low for Teá to hear.

Now, however, I _was_ staring at a somewhat suspiciously unmoving magician and wonderng why he was so suspicious.

"What _happened?_" I asked, drawing looks from most of the assembled, Yugi looked over at the disks and then back at me.

"His soul was sent to the Shadow Realm after he didn't win against me." My eyebrow shot into my hairline as he turned to his other friends, to whom this explanation appeaered to be perfectly reasonable. "He was being controlled by someone with a Millennium Item guys, the same one who tried to steal my Puzzle with Bandit Keith. This is serious." I cut across him, feeling once more out-of-my-depth.

"What now?" My default answer when I heard something ludicrous, a look was shared between all of them before Teá nodded a little and Tristan shrugged.

"She was going to ask at _some_ point after she saw him..." Was Teá's cryptic answer, Yugi nodded and stood up, walking past Mokuba and outside, followed by Teá, Tristan and Joey. Mokuba and Yugi's Grandfather stayed behind to get medical attention for the magician, I almost stamped my foot in petulance.

"ASK WHAT DAMNIT?" I ran after my supposed friends.

**~XxX~**

"I repeat, _what now?_" I leant against a wall in an alleyway as Teá finished her recounting of what had happened back in Duelist Kingdom and how that bore heavily on the man I had seen. Yugi had tried explaining, but I had cut him off saying that, in all fairness, I had seen two of him and only one of Teá.

"It's true, every word of it." She said, nodding as Tristan and Joey joined her in her explanation.

"I threw Bakura's Ring into the forest." Was Tristan's back-up, Joey going next.

"We've all seen him, and we even helped him beat Pegasus in the finals." I took a step backwards and my back hit the wall.

"This is _insane._ _You're_ insane. I love you all, but this is _insane."_

"But it's true." Yugi said with a quiet confidence that almost made me reconsider, instead I shook my head disbelievingly.

"You keep saying that..." I trailed off, looking at the ground for a while before looking back up at the sound of Teá's voice.

"So, are you leaving?" My features jumped in the surprise I was feeling.

"What? NO!" I shook my head again, "why would I do that? Nooo...someone has to be the voice of sanity here and it might as well be me because," I looked over at Yugi and smirked slightly, "you aren't going to get it anywhere else."

**~XxX~**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I'm writing this directly after the last one and so have no idea if anyone's reviewed! But I have another pressing concern, could I have some reviews telling me whether or not I'm keeping the characters in character? Because I have a feeling that I'm overcompensating and making Kaiba even **_**more**_** of a jerk...**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

"Why do you people keep doing this to me?" I asked, panting slightly as I came to a halt at the side of Yugi, standing at the side of a decorative pond.

"Sophie!" The surprised look he gave me was enough to confirm my suspicions, I rolled my eyes at him.

"You were talking to _him_ again! For the love of god Yugi, if I'm supposed to be following you around until I believe you, you can't go running off and leaving me behind every five seconds!" Yugi sighed at me, looking like he was going to, once again, launch into telling me that his card-game playing alter-ego was real and if I just hung around for long enough I'd see, when a man walked over. That, in itself, isn't strange, what made it strange was the glowing eye on his forehead and the fact he was dressed like a mime. With piercings.

"We meet again Yugi Motou, I will not lose this time." The mime spoke and as he did so the eye on his forehead glowed brighter, I froze, my mind catching up with my eyes while Yugi turned to the mime and began to ask him something. I didn't know what because my attention was soley fixed on the mime. I made a strangled sound as I took a step backwards from both males.

"His mouth isn't _moving_." I hissed at Yugi, "he's speaking without moving his _mouth_. Yugi, how do you _know _this guy?" I turned to my friend for an answer, Yugi didn't turn back to look at me as he answered, preferring to keep his eyes trained on the mime.

"Sophie, that's not him speaking, that's Marik controlling him with the power of his Millennium Item." I snorted at his explanation and looked out over the pond, collecting my thoughts.

"I hope you realise that you're making _no logical sense_." I said, sighing at his refusal to either explain what the hell a 'Millennium Item' was or who the mime was, I was about to ask my inital question for a second time, but froze at the sight of the Deus Ex Machina infront of me.

"YOU _AGAIN?_ SERIOUSLY?" I yelled at the man who was now standing at my right side, I looked wildly around to see where Yugi was, but he seemed to have disappeared. "There's _no way_ he could have gotten away _that_ fast..." I muttered, barely audible until I looked back up at the man, raising my palms in an 'I Give Up' gesture, "Okay, fine, you win...Yami was it?" Using the name Teá had given me as his a few days ago, I sighed, deciding that I would just give up fighting for the moment, the taller Yugi doppleganger nodded at me before turning back to face the, apparently controlled, mime.

"The last time we dueled you had stolen Joey's Red Eyes, what do you want now?" The dopple -sorry- _Yami _also had a _far_ deeper voice than Yugi but at the very least I now had an answer to how Yugi knew this guy.

"I don't want your friend's card Pharaoh, I want the source of your power, your Millennium Puzzle!" I'd already gawked when the mime had said 'Pharaoh' but now gained some ground back by thinking of a retort.

"I can just _hear_ the melodramatic organ..." I sighed and felt a chill run up my back when the mime looked at me, there are three things I am petrified of: clowns, helicopters and doors that are left open or slightly ajar, this guy's blank, brainwashed stare made me think about adding mimes to that list. I decided it would be better for me if I just shut up.

"You will never get my Puzzle Marik! It's time to Duel!" I almost broke my 'shutting up' policy at that tagline. _Everyone_ seemed to say it before starting a Duel, I didn't see what was so wrong with saying 'start' or 'go'.

**~XxX~**

"Hahaha Pharaoh! You appear to have walked right into my trap!"

I had been watching the ensuing duel with something akin to anxiousness up until this point as Yami yelled back at Marik's statement. I now believed wholly in Yugi's story, after seeing the mime float several feet off the ground and the eye on his forehead glow in a rainbow-like manner.

"What? What do you mean?" Yami steeled himself visibly for a trap card, what happened instead made me freeze inside.

"I SUMMON SLIFER THE SKY DRAGON!" A frown crossed my face for a second, before being wiped away by pure, animalistic fear as the red and gold dragon rose out of the card Marik had summoned, Yami took a step backwards as I did the same, every instinct screaming at me to run away from the 100 foot long monster. That was, until all other thoughts were shattered as my brain registered loss of ground support.

I had stepped backwards into the pond.

My arms pinwheeled madly for a moment before I plunged under the surface, gasping as my head went under at the coldness of the water, I opened my eyes underwater and thought for a moment that seeing Koi from this angle wasn't nearly as relaxing as watching them from above, glancing upwards at the light which signalled which way was up I pulled at the water around me, kicking y legs and swimming to the light. I broke the surface mouth first, gasping at the air, the first breath went down laced with water, by which point my upper body was clear of the water, I coughed and sucked down another breath, choking at the sight in front of me.

"Kai-cough-ba..." I hacked from behind the white-coated git, he half-turned and looked down at me, now treading water, red hair plastered to my face and still spluttering slightly, he regarded my current predicament for a moment before speaking.

"Callaghan, this isn't the time for a swimming session. Get out of there." Turning back towards the duel that hadn't halted in my absence without another word, I spluttered my disapproval at him.

"Well, if _someone_ could _help_ me out that might be nice. It's not like I _wanted _to take a dip in a fish pond." I snapped back at him, swimming over to the edge and bracing my hands on the ledge, pulling myself up with a little help from Mokuba, I smiled politely at him. "You're more like it." I said, looking down at the younger Kaiba brother as I got to my feet, dripping steadily. I glared at Kaiba, daring him to say something as I stringed out several strands of seaweed from my hair and threw them behind me, back into the pond, the -plip-plip-plip of the water that soaked my suit and myself through punctuated my next sentence like full-stops.

"So. What. Happened when you'd. Arrived.?" I looked back at the duel, Yami was in a cage while some kind of blue..._thing _was being attacked and coming back to life each time. Kaiba returned my glare and didn't answer, but it appeared that he couldn't suppress a smirk at my dejected appearance, instead Mokuba answered my question.

"Yugi's been played into a corner, Strings' Revival Jam keeps letting his God card attack whatever card Yugi draws, as if that wasn't bad enough Revival Jam let's Strings draw three cards everytime it get's attacked." Mokuba shook his head slightly at the problem, I had several comments of my own to make on that sentence.

"Okay, God card? Secondly, even if I _wasn't _a Law student back home I would _still _be able to see the weak link there." Kaiba looked back at me before speaking.

"And what weak link can _you_ see?" He asked, for once not sounding rude, more, mildy curious. I nodded towards the duel, or more specifically, Yami.

"The same one you saw I suspect, and the same one he's seeing now." Yami played a magic card, Mind-Conrol, which allowed him to control Marik/Strings' Revival Jam, Slifer's effect made it attack it the moment Revival Jam was on Yami's side of the field, causing Marik/Strings to draw three cards each time. This repeated in a loop for a few moments, during which I got several more strands of seaweed out of my hair and brushed a little algae off my right cuff, still soaking, I was thankful that it was Summer, otherwise I would have been chilled to the bone by now. I spoke to Kaiba while watching as Yami claimed victory and therefore Marik's God card. "You know, you could have helped him instead of just, standing here and watching." Mokuba looked up at me from my left side.

"We did! Seto gave Yugi advice when he was about to give up..." He trailed of at my raised eyebrow and incredulous look, I turned 180 degrees and stared at Kaiba.

"Oh really? And what advice would _that_ be? 'Get on with it?' Perhaps? Or how about, 'don't screw it up?' Somehow I don't figure you for compassionate advice." There was no visible reaction to my taunt, but he answered anyway.

"I told him to exploit the glaring loophole."

"Oh." I said, conceeding, "that's startlingly helpful coming from you..." He sniffed and turned away from me, towards Yami.

"You've got a God card of your own now Motou and you won it by exploiting a loophole in the opposition's strategy. I respect you as a Duelist, but the next time we duel, I'll claim your God card as mine." I rolled my eyes at his monologue, frowning at the 'respect' aspect of of it. I was unaware that Kaiba _could _respect He turned to Mokuba, gesturing for him to follow and glancing at me. "Get cleaned up Callaghan, you smell like fish." I froze mid-hair-wringing.

"You know, I don't remember ever calling that truce off." I said, glaring at him for the insult.

"I don't remember ever _agreeing_ to a truce." He smirked, I growled at him and turned fully towards him, ignoring the puzzled look from Yami.

"I hate you." I hissed, jabbing a finger at him.

"Apparently you love me." Kaiba smirked once again as my eyes bugged, my face flushed and I choked on my next words.

"GAH! That was misconstrued! That's a British saying, we say it all the time back home without this kind of problem!" I waved my hands in the air, exasperated suddenly, "I can't help it if Japanese people don't have the same subtlty as British people!" Yami cleared his throat and moved into my space, saying something about 'leaving it', I was too busy seeing red to take any notice of him though.

"That's not correct in _any _sense." Kaiba retorted, folding his arms and turning to fully face me also.

"Oh really? Then why's it called '_Chinese_ Whispers'?" I hooked my fingers around the words and lowered my voice conspiratorially, Yami sighed next to me, obviously giving up with getting through to me and was now just standing with a rather amused Mokuba, Kaiba raised an eyebrow.

"...That's borderline racist and makes no sense." I scoffed at his answer, in too deep to take any of my insults back and instead deciding to go for the gold.

"It makes _ten_ kinds of sense, Mr 'I-Play-A-Cardgame-That's-Centred-Around-Loud-Bangs-And-Flashes'. _That_ doesn't sound too subtle." I folded my arms, mimicking his stance to piss him off and raising both my eyebrows to invite a retort, I wasn't disappointed.

"The Japanese people can be very subtle and Duel Monsters is a test of skill and character." He looked at me stonily after I'd insulted Duel Monsters, it appeared I'd found a sticking point.

"Well I suppose you're just a bad example of Japanese people then, because unless _your _character is Scrooge McDuck, it's just a cardgame." I unfolded one arm and splayed my palm in the air, pointing one finger at him to accentuate the '_your'_.

"Oh? And you're the pride of Britan are you?" I bunched both my hands into fists by my sides, looking at him and wanting to slap the smug look off his face, at the very least the blush I'd gained around the beginning of the argument was fading along with my creativity in my insults.

"...I hate you.." I repeated, Kaiba smirking at his verbal victory.

"I thought we'd already covered this?"

"GAH!"

**~XxX~**

**A/N: OOOooooOOOOOoooo SOPHIE GOT BURNED! Ahhhh, I had SO much fun writing that XD If you've noticed a few YGOTAS references every now and then, you're right! It's too good for me NOT to quote it and some of the more sarcastic put downs suit Sophie so well XD**

**~Ava**


	9. Chapter 9

**~XxX~**

"Urgh, don't you have a car or something we could take?" I had been walking with Yami and Kaiba for the better part of an hour without complaint, but now, my mind was wandering and when my mind wanders, I talk a lot.

"Of course I have a car Callaghan," Kaiba sighed from my right side, continuing to walk, "I have several, but I have no wish for you to dampen the seats or leave any of my _expensive_ cars smelling like wet dog." I sighed, refusing to rise to the bait, preferring instead to rub my bare arms with my hands to stave off a chill from the wind.

The wind that was picking up drastically.

Far too drastically to be natural.

"Not again..." I moaned loud nough to be heard over the racket of the oncoming chopper, the rest of my rant about conventional methods of travel was cut short by the sight of a small body hanging from the chopper, I gaped at little at the sight, my brain unable to compute what I was seeing..

"Mokuba?" Kaiba had beaten me to the puch, my yell hitting the air a millisecond after him and Yami's a second after me, the three of us looked on in mortification, I barely knew the kid, but I had met him briefly when I was looking for Yugi and Teá a while back. Seeing him almost certain discomfort, bound and dangled out of an airborne chopper was something sadistic and I froze in disbelief at the sight. This...didn't happen in London. The sound of someone clearing their throat alerted us to the presence of another. The sound was too quiet to be heard normally, but the pitch of the man's voice was unreal, it was far to high to be human, as was one half of his face...

My brain, which had been feeling like cotton wool at the at the sadisticness of the blatent kidnapping, suddenly kickstarted into overdrive leaving me champing at the bit to rip the stupid mask off this prick's face, I didn't advance on him though, the fact that he was dangling a twelve-year-old out of a helicopter made me think he wouldn't think twice before hurting me. "WHAT THE _FUCK_ IS WRONG WITH YOU DEMENTED-" I was forced to bite my tongue by a look from Kaiba, but not one of the usual, "Shut the hell up Callaghan" looks.

"That's quite enough Callaghan," well, it was better than the latter, he turned his head to nail the other man with a glare, "What do you want?" The ice in his tone made me shiver, earning me a mildly concerned look fromYami, I suppose that was logical, I was still damp and the wind being whipped up wasn't doing much for my temperature, I shrugged, arms folded, and turned back to also glare my best at the half-masked man, awaiting his reply, he didn't seem in a hurry to do so though. Instead he looked from Yami, to Kaiba, to me and back to Yami again.

"In addition to the Mokuba Kaiba we kidnapped, we also came into the possesion of Teá Gardner and Joey Wheeler, if you wish to see either of them again-" he turned his eyes to Kaiba, "And if you wish to have your little brother back," eyes back to Yami, "You will duel us ontop of that building in fifteen minutes time." He stabbed his finger in the direction of a massive glass building, it looked half the size of the Kaiba Corp tower, and just as egotistical. I frowned, my health and safety brain not liking the sound of this one bit, "We await your arrival." With the last word he made a circle motion above his head, signalling the chopper, which roared upwards and away as he scaled a buildng in a manner that even the best parkour artists would be jealous. Several seconds passed with stunned silence being the topic until I decided to break it.

"Can we use your car _now_?"

**~XxX~**

Ten minutes.

It had taken us ten minutes to sprint from the plaza we were at to the last floor of this farce of an achitectural brainstorm session. Who puts a glass staircase in? As I was pondering this over my mind was still running, asking more questions.

Who were these kidnappers?

Why were they targeting these two?

Was I really going to watch two guys I considered friends duel two_ absolute_ nutcases ontop of a glass building?

I couldn't get an answer for the first two questions without asking, but the last question appeared to have a resounding "yes" sound silently between the three of us as we looked at the fire-door. It's strange, a door isn't daunting usually, but when you know that you may fall to your death, either through glass or off a buliding due to turbulence, it suddenly becomes freakishly scary.

"I-" My voice tailed off as I looked at my two current companions, for once, I was lost for words, the gravity of the situation hitting me between the eyes; _lives _of people we knew and cared for were at stake, over a _cardgame_. Instead of listening to my cowardly side, which at that current moment in time was screaming at me to run for my life, I shifted my gaze from them, straightened my back and pushed the door open and using my "arrogant" stride to get across the roof, all the feigned confidence quickly drained through my Converses the second I saw the two kidnappers, but I kept that to myself. I instead cast my eyes around the roof for possible escape routes as Yami and Kaiba began to-well, get rightfully angry at the the men.

"A Tag-Duel?" In spite of it all, I rolled my eyes from the sidelines, though Yami and Kaiba were standing side-by-side and ontop of a glass roof, Duel-Disks at the ready, Kaiba _still_ refused to co-operate. Yami mirrored my manouvere, rolling his eyes and snapped at him to stop complaining, they had to work as a team. I stood a little off to the side, staring at the four duelists before sighing a little, I felt like a fifth wheel. Of course, seconds after the thought wandered past my mind I chastised myself for thinking selfishly under the circumstances before looking around for a second time.

Glass.

Palms.

Fire-Door.

50-metre sheer drop.

_Well _that_ was helpful Soso._ I rolled my eyes at my mind's snark, but, it was right, I really couldn't be much help here. _Except as a cheering squad._ "Great." I muttered before taking a deep breath, I'd never really cheered anyone on before, unless you counted cheering England on at the World Cup; clapping rythmically didn't seem the way to go currently however. I let out the breath, it was pointless me trying to cheer them on, I'm no good at motivating anyone to do anything, I can _manipulate_ them, sure, but not _motivate_ and I've been trying to leave the "manipulative bitch" me behind. As an alternative I sat on the glass cross-legged and watched the duel with interest.

**~XxX~**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Alright, getting back into this now. XD**

**As usual, all reviews are apprecitated, as are shamless ego-boosts XD**

** MY SISTER'S MUM JUST HAD HER BABY! FFFF So happy for her right now~**

**Also, a friend of mine came up with an idea as we were IM'ing, would anyone be interested in asking me questions on AIM or Messenger about this fic? (Or just shiz in general XD)**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

"Holy mother of-" The curseword never made it past my lips as I was, once again, confronted by the blue monstrosity that lived in Kaiba's deck. Though I had seen it a fair few times before and was no longer rendered _completely_ stunned to see it, however, I was still amazed when confronted by the sheer size and power of it; it's attack points were strong enough to fell Lumis and Umbra's, (we had been privy to their names during the duel), monsters. I _had_ wondered why Yami and Kaiba were playing two monsters each that last turn...

"Brilliant, fantastic and wonerful to watch, but-" I got up from my spot by the fire-door and brushed my blouse and trousers down, walking over to the males who were currently dividing the locator cards they had won between them, "we didn't get the location of either our friends or your brother." I gestured to Yami and myself with one hand while pointing to Kaiba. His eyes flicked over my shoulder to something behind me, he smirked and spoke.

"Callaghan, I know_exactly_ where my brother is." At his words I frowned, then heard an all to familiar "thup-thup-thup" coming closer by the second. I spun on my heel to be faced by a white helicopter, different to the last with the "KC" emblazoned in red along the sides. I stared for several seconds.

"Ho-" I trailed off as the chopper landed on the roof and Mokuba stepped out, waving at his brother and then at us. I shook my head disbelivingly, trailing after my friends as we walked over to Mokuba. "Your brother is..._astounding._" I said honestly, it was no secret that myself and people under the age of fourteen didn't tend to like eachother very much, but I would certainly make an execption in this one's case. As I finished my sentence I caught the proud look in Kaiba's eyes, that shocked me a little as I bundled into my new phobia; I hadn't really thought of Kaiba being the kind of person to be proud of anything. But, as I seated myself and took note of the decidedly different helicopter interior, it became clear to me that such a thing wasn't the case. I was snapped out of my revire by said person's voice.

"You aren't going to hyperventilate again are you Callaghan?" His voice held more and a hint of a taunt, but I disregarded it, crossing my legs as I shifted a little in my seat opposite him.

"No Kaiba, not this time I don't think. This helicopter is...spacious to say the least. And the doors aren't open..." I shuddered and glanced out of the window to the far left of me, frowning at the buildings as they passed by. So long as I didn't see the ground, I was fine.

"And will you be able to undo a children's grade seatbelt?" He seemed to be enjoying my new blush of utter embarrassment as Yami turned from scouring the streets with his eyes, to looking at me with a mixture of amusment and disbelief, obviously confused as to my history with helicopters and how Kaiba knew about it, I just rolled my eyes at both males and settled for running my finger through the velveteen seat covers to either side of me. I had chosen to sit on the opposite side to my friends but in the middle, so I had adaquate space near me. Unfortunately that meant I was directly opposite Kaiba and since we both sat with our legs crossed, limited leg room. I frowned at this helicopter, feeling the pilot shift his weight in his seat directly behind mine.

"How much does this _cost_ exactly?" I asked the question I had been thinking since I first saw him hanging out of the same chopper nearly a week ago. He frowned at me for a second, his eyes unfocusing a tad as he obviously calculated the amount.

"Roughly $250,000 for the chopper itsef, add another...$25,000 for the fuel every few weeks-" I gawked at him, dignity fleeing me at his words.

"Weeks? _Weeks? WEEKS?_ Are you demented? The rent of the _flat_ in _London_ didn't cost that much a _year!_" I was close to yelling but reigned myself in before I fully lost composure, instead I sat back into my seat, having risen out of it at my third repeating of the word 'weeks.' The three males infront of me however had different reactions; Mokuba smiled at me as if to say, "Well what did you expect?" Kaiba just smirked at my little..._outburst_ and Yami just looked mildly amused. It appeared that everyone else was used to the mind-boggling wealth that this _seventeen-year-old_ possessed.

"Well thanks Kaiba," I said, deliberately sighing over-theatrically, "now I feel like I have quite literally done _nothing_ with my life..." I was silent and ignored the smirk on his face until a thought struck me, "Greenpeace must _hate_ you." His smirk dissapeared quickly before retorting.

"My company protects a large portion of the Amazon Rainforest, several parks in Japan and even a few areas in England." He addressed my point head-on but without the usual coldness, rather, in it's place there was a slight tone of justified-pride. Yami and I exchanged a look of mild shock at the lack of arrogance in what he had said, I acknowledged the rebuttal with a nod of my head, about to say something when Mokuba shouted after looking out of the window.

"Hey, Bro! That looks like Joey! But...what's he doing in a shipping yard?"

"Joey!" Yami shouted at his blonde headed friend, regardless of the fact that he couldn't hear him through the metal and glass. I turned in my seat, streching my neck to see out of the same window, frowning as I did so and we neared.

"Uhh Yami...I don't think something's right with Joey..." There was something wrong with his eyes...

"Very little change then." Kaiba muttered as the helicopter landed, I slammed my hand down on the red button this time, actually remembering how to use it, and glared at Kaiba.

"Not the time." I hissed, following him out and onto the docks, he frowned at me a little before the two Kaiba brothers and I tuned back to the conversation, well more like _challenge_, from Joey.

"Hahaha Pharaoh! I have taken control of your friends Joey and Teá in preration for our duel!" As Joey spoke Teá walked down a set of portable stairs, common to shipping grounds. I froze, my brain catching up with my ears. Was Joey speakingin _third person?_ And his voice seemed so...monotone, very unlike his usual upbeat manner. But the kicker for me came when Teá started o speak, the same lack of emotion behind her voice and the normal happy, friendly girl I had made friends with seemed to have been quashed by, who I now knew to be Marik. Something twisted in my gut as I thought about that, he could get inside my friends heads and control them, before it was just strangers, which, while terrible, wasn't personal. I had no attatchment to the mime, but Teá was the first person I talked with in a new country, the first person I had befriended, (or rather, befriended me), in a new country. This was sick, twisted and something that both Yami and I were visibly angered by.

"Release them Marik! Your problem is with me, not my friends." Yami said, sounding startlingly commanding for being the other half of Yugi, I'd have to watch out for my shorter friend in the future. Marik forced a condescending laugh through both Joey and Teá. My eyes narrowed behind my fringe, I had been subconsciously angling my body so I was partially hidden behind Kaiba but now threw my usual cowardice to the wind, stepping fully out to stand nearer Yami.

"You sick, demented, twisted freak." I spat at the controlled-Joey, I could have said it to Teá, but I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I said what I was planning to her. "Were you not loved enough as a child? Is that it? Or maybe you were an outcast at school?" I feigned pity and folded my arms, really, once I got into it it was no different to insulting Kaiba. "I apologise, you aren't twisted, no, see, what you've done is _sprained _your mind. I am sorry for you, give them back." Both heads of my friends turned to me in a spooky unison.

"Girl, I don't know who you are but you are already annoying me. Don't speak of things you know nothing about." It was the mouth of Teá he used this time, leaving me feeling unnerved and a little hurt, though I knew it _wasn't _Teá speaking, I realised just how hurt I would feel if she actually ever _did_ dislike me. It seems I've found a friend I don't want to miss. Both heads turned back to Yami.

"Now Pharaoh, I challenge you to a duel!" Yami nodded and followed the 'Joey' as Teá was escorted away from us by a man in a purple cloak, I gaped as I watched everyone present follow too, giving chase once they turned a corner.

**~XxX~**

"_But it's just a bloody cardgame..."_ I tailed off my murmur at one look at the Saw-esque scene before me. Joey and Yami were to duel eachother, the loser would be dragged to the bottom of the ocean via an anchor chained to their ankle. If Kaiba, Mokuba or I tried to interrupt or prevent the duel, Teá would be crushed by a shipping container. Whatever way I looked at the proceedings I was still stupifed by the violence and malice behind it. If Yami won, he'd lose a friend, if he lost, he'd die, if we tried to help, the duel would still continue and Teá would die. That was alot of death for something I had previously considered a petty children's cardgame. The duel had been going for several minutes as, in a rare instance, Kaiba and I were silently resolved to work together to see if we could find a way out for them.

We saw nothing.

I unconsciously drew closer to the two brothers, standing behind Mokuba and scouring the docks with my eyes, tring to find a gap in Marik's plan somewhere when I saw Joey's Red Eyes Black Dragon dominate the docks. I gasped, then chastised myself for doing so in the presence of Kaiba, who smirked at me for a second. I frowned at him before realising that what I had remembered as Joey's card, was in fact Yami's now. But it wasn't, because Yami, was now Yugi. I stared some more at what was in front of me, now having no other choice than to accept that there really were two people in one as Yugi placed his puzzle around Joey's neck.

"Joey, you've got to remember, you've got to break free of him! Take it Joey," Yugi said, as he did so I noticed that both of my friends seemed to be sapped of their strength, barely being able to stand. "It's the symbol of our friendship." Yugi was having more than a little trouble taying on two feet and I moved forward to help him when I felt something blocking my way, I looked down and saw that Kaiba had placed his arm out in front of me, flicking his eyes up to the shipping container above Teá before I remembered what would hapen if we tried to intervene. I stepped back once more and balled my hands into fists as Marik forced Joey to summon a meteor. A meteor that would end the duel by obliterating one of their life-points in a few turns time. I moved forward once more and found myself unhindered. At the same time I heard Mokuba shout at his older brother. I quickly glanced around to see that Kaiba was no loner on the same side of the docks as us, instead running towards Teá and the man who held her hostage. Taking my chances I followed, in time to see the person that, until recently I had considered cruel and a jerk disable a grown man with a trading card.

"Wha-Did you just-" I stood over the man who was unconscious on the ground, disbelief in my voice as I stared at Kaiba and then the card beside the man, Kaiba looked down at the man then back at me as if it was perfectly possible for someone to use a piece of card in their attempts to foil an evil plot. I snappeed out of my stunned silence quickly, instead running over to Teá and crouching beside the chair she was tied to.

"S-Sophie..." She said, vision clearing and her voice no longer monotone, "where...what are Yugi and Joey dueling f-Marik." She had been sounding fairly dreamlike throughout the first half of her sentence, but that cleared the second she remembered, the shutters coming down in her voice.

And that was when the anchor fell.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: OOoooOOOoooOOoo, I've noticed a spike in my reading figures! I don't know w hy, but it's nice that so many people like this thing! You can expect another update tomorrow, I'm getting back into this.**

**~Ava**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: FFFFFFFFF I JUST GOT A LETTER FROM THE COLLEGE I WAS ACCEPTED IN. *deep breath* I'M IN. FOR REAL THIS TIME. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH *dies***

**Oh, yeah, something relevant to this, no, what comes next isn't from my demented mind. This is what **_**actually**_** happens in the manga. I can understand why the yaoi fangirls leapt upon that pairing now. XD**

**Luna and Cocoesloco: YOU ARE WELCOME, I'm glad you liked my article on LJ about that Sue, and I'm even happier it inspired you two to leave constructive critisisms and not flames, like some people have before. Flames bore, concrit helps.**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

"NO!" Teá and I shrieked at the sight of Yugi being hit by the meteor, which in his selfless-ness he had directed at himself, and the anchor falling into the sea. Joey attempted to swing across the gap but fell in also. Our scream was echoed from across the dock, by Mokuba, Tristan, the blonde woman I had met a week ago and...two people I did not know. I froze alongside my friends, staring at the sea in shock when Yugi broke the surface; coughing and spluttering, but still alive. Teá, Kaiba and I ran round the edge of the platform agin, Teá and Tristan helping Yugi onto dry land. I caught a glint out of the corner of my eye, spotting the key to Joey's cuffs which I quickly snatched up, I turned, ready to dive when I felt the key snatched from my hand and fabric hit me in the face.

Kaiba had dived into the sea.

I pulled the coat he had flung at me from my head and shoulders, folding it over my forearm as Mokuba, a fellow red-headed girl with a long white bandage hanging limply from her hand and myself ran to the edge of the platform, looking to see if he had dived in time when they too, surfaced, Kaiba with one arm hooked under Joey's armpit, keeping him afloat The three of us helped them scramble ungracefully back onto the platform, grabbing Kaiba's hand I helped him pull himself up and out of the water, for once neither of us making a sarcastic comment. Joey spluttered a little as the red-head flung her arms around his neck, something clicked in my brain, that must be Serenity; his sister, the identity of the black-haired guy still eluded me however. I got to my feet, shaking a little from the adrenaline come-down and offered my hand to Kaiba, who looked at it before getting to his feet of his own accord. I shrugged but kept a tight hold of the coat; not willing to let the tech in it get soaked, I started a little at the strange scene around me.

My friends were alive, after a near death experience.

My sparring enemy being the one who saved them.

I sighed exasperatedly, I was going to have to do something I hated and I wasn't looking forward to it. I walked over to Teá, deciding to put it off for now and instead hugged my friend from behind, surprising her, (and almost stabbing her in the eye with the collar of Kaiba's coat), she laughed and patted my hand slightly, knowing that it wasn't easy for me to show outward affection towards people. I let go and stood in part of the semi-circle that we had found ourselves in.

"So...what now?" I asked, looking at Yugi and then to each of my friends, nodding politely at the black-haired guy and Joey's sister, smiling slightly at Mai as I rememberedher name.

"We have to stop Marik from gaining the power of the Pharaoh..." Teá said, tailing off.

"And we need to get to the finals..." Yugi finished for her, looking at the sun as it signalled that the day was ending finally. We all stayed silent for a moment, watching the picturesque ending to a horrifying day for a while. One of us, I don't know whom, cleared their throat and brought us all back to reality, I decided to take the moment to introduce myself to Serenity and the new guy.

"Hi," I said, shifting the coat I was still unwilling to give back to my left arm as I proffered my right hand, "I'm Sophie, I...m a friend of your brother's." I hesitated for a second over how to introduce myself, I've never followed up my name with anything other than, 'and I'll be showing you around today.' She nodded and smiled, taking my hand.

"I'm Serenity, i-it's nice to meet you." I smiled at her, she had a very sweet voice and it looked like, judging from the protective arm he kept around her, Joey was very protective of his little sister.

"It's nice to meet you too, especially another red-head." I smiled at the end of the sentence, feeling the discomfort of an introduction to someone related to a friend of mine ease slightly, I turned to the other guy next, who was standing inbetween Mai and Tristan. "I'm sorry, we've never met I'm-"

"Duke Devlin." He cut me off with, what I imagined was a smile that made many girls weak, but, while I wasn't going to deny his attractiveness, I was unfortunately more interested in the owner of the coat I was currently holding hostage. However, as I caught the glance that he gave Serenity and in turn the glare that he recived from Tristan, it didn't seem that my not being attracted to him would bother him unduly. I smiled back and shook his hand, feeling a tad smug that I was getting all the psychological cues correct and greeting Mai, telling the rest of my friends that I was leaving for home.

"If you're planning on taking that Callaghan, you'll have to pay to replace it." I sighed as I rounded the first container, knowing from the way we had run earlier that one more right would lead me to an easy-to-follow path and then to the road near the school.

"I assure you I wasn't," I said, stopping and refusing to turn around just yet, I took a deep breath, this wasn't the kind of thing I enjoyed doing. Ever. "I-I'm..." Another breath, "I'm sorry." No answer, I turned round and saw both Kaiba and Mokuba about four metres behind me, Mokuba not looking any different, maybe slightly confused as to my apology but Kaiba seemed to either be having fun with my sudden predicament, or shocked that I was apologising to him. Another breath, "That is to say, I'm not sorry for Physics or the canteen, or anywhere where I was actually justified in or you started-" I took another breath, an apology doesn't work if you point out all the other person's flaws, "but I apologise for my barbs pertaining to your personality and your dedication." I closed the gap and held his coat at arms length, a peace offering, "You saved my friend's lives today and the humiliation of apologising to you _still_ can't sour that for me. So, thank you and I'll reign it in a little more when it comes to you." An eyebrow shot into his hairline and I grimaced, "Okay, that's a lie, but I'll try to be nicer."

"Well," He hesitated for a second and cleared his throat, "you're welcome Callaghan, but I didn't do it for you. I couldn't have someone die during my tournament. Even if it _was_ the mutt." His smirk back in place as I felt myself mirror it slightly. Turning away quickly before either he or his brother could catch my newest blush I began to head towards where I knew the school to be and from there home.

"Get cleaned up Kaiba, you smell like fish." I shouted, repeating the words he'd said to me only six hours ago.

**~XxX~**

"Sophie! Cinema! Now!" I replayed the voicemail that Teá had left on my phone as I was washing my hair back at home, the urgency in her tone making me rush so much that I barely had time to scarf down some toast, dose up on antibiotics, (and stuff the vial of pills in my bra), change into a different suit before bolting out the door with wet hair and my highly impractical work shoes. A decision I was now thoroughly regretting. I made it to the cinema near my house in a record ten minutes, by which time the sight that greeted me was...unusual to say the least.

"Uhhhh...Teá...wha-" I said, my eyes unbelieving as I saw Mai letting go of a flapole and landing on Joey, what had Teá called me to?

"Sophie! You made it!" She smiled at me and dragged me over to the rest of the group, ignoring the scene behind her as she pointed out a shape at the end of the road the cinema was on.

"What is that? And why did you call me out here at 10pm? The streets are only safe during this tournament thing y'know, if I tried to do that at any other time inthe yea-" She was still pointing at the shape, looking at me expectantly, I frowned and squinted my eyes, trying to discern what it actually was whe I saw it clearly.

"Is that...a stadium?" Teá nodded, smiling and seeing the look of confusion on my face fade in favour of incredulity as I realised why she called me. "He's holding the finals in a _stadium?_" I groaned and rolled my eyes, what had I expected? Something understated? Teá laughed and let go of my arm as we walked back to our group of friends.

"Yep, I don't believe it either, but it seems that _that_ stadium is the only thing around her that can contain his ego for the time it takes to duel." She shook her head slightly.

"So..why am I here again?" I asked, still not picking up on why I was called all the way out here, Teá looked at me like I had just grown another head.

"Because you're our friend, you've got to be there for the finals." I blushed a little when she actually openly said the word 'friend' in conjuncion with me, but my mouth dropped open.

"The finals are being held _now?_ As in, this late at _night?" _I gaped at her as she understood my question, nodding again as I shook my head in exasperation.

"And while we ere on our way here we got ambushed by an ex of Mai's, who Joey was completely star-struck by, the ex kidnapped her, or, well, _tried _to-" I stared at Teá, not wanting to believe that so much could have happened in the short few hours I was at home and just how brilliantly Teá and everyone else seemed to be taking it. I surmised that my friends were amazingly together if they were, as they actually _were_ now, laughing, joking and walking towards the stadium after a kidnapping. Either that or the kidnapping attempt was lame..

"We're here." Teá hissed in my ear as I almost walked into a street light, my mind had been so otherwise occupied I had barely noticed my surroundings, or the fact that we had walked the entire length of the road in ten minutes. Steadying myself, I filed into the stadium behind my friend and couldn't surpress the gasp as I saw inside the structure for the first time.

"Th-this place is-Wembley." I finished with conviction. This place was as big as the inside of Wembley stadium back home, but all this for a card game? I was about to ask Yugi a question about the usual conduct of the finals in tournamens when I laughd loudly, cutting off Kaiba from whatever it was he had been talking about, my attention not focused on him I had completely missed the blimp coming in to land, now I was staring at something I had never seen in my life and laughing.

"_That,_ my friend," I said, not looking at Kaiba while I spoke but pointing in his general direction as I still stared at the blimp, "is probably more than a helicopter..."

**~XxX~**

**A/N: I'm no expert, but I would think that a helicopter costs less than a fully functional and stocked blimp. XD**

**YES. In the manga, Joey/Jounochi was saved, not by his sister, but by Kaiba. I know, I as shocked too. But then again, it makes sense, in the original Japanese anime, not only was there brilliant music, an actual plot, psychology in the dialouge and difficult moral descisios, but Teá wasn't a sap and Kaiba wasn't a douche. Go figure.**

**~Ava**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Gaaah, the spelling mistakes in the last one will be fixed by the time I post this chapter, but until then you're going to have to suffer through them XD**

**JESUS H CHRIST THERE WAS A SPIKE IN READERS YESTERDAY. AND TODAY! I am honestly amazed that so many people like this, seriously, see it from my angle, I'm a 16 year-old girl, sitting her bedroom writing on a laptop that is older than her while being stared at by her cat. Either that or I'm looking after my younger sibling or cooking dinner or working or SOMETHING and I come back to 400 story alerts/faves and a crap-tonne of views XD**

**I LOVE YOU. EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU THAT HAS BOTHERED WITH THIS THING.**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

Blimps aren't like helicopters.

I love them.

Or, well, maybe just this blimp.

"Chrome." I said with a smile, running my fingers over the sill of a nearby window and turning round to sit in a black leather chair infront of a glass coffee table. I rested my head against the back of the chair, opening my eyes and gasping while I leapt up and clapped my hand to my chest. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph." I said inbetween hyperventilating as Kaiba smirked at me. He, apparently, had been standing behind me as all of us were in the main room of the blimp, I only realised this fact after I had sat down and saw him loom over me upside down. "What-what the HELL was that for?" I asked as I heard Teá laugh a little from behind me, I turned to her and surpressed a smile, I couldn't stay angry after I'd made a fool of myself but honestly...

"Callaghan, was that _really _necessary?" Kaiba asked, sounding mildy amused at my frantic and ungraceful manouvre. I glared at him, blush evident, but thankfully it could be attributed to embarrassment.

"Was it nece-forget it." I waved the possible argument away, remembering my promise from earlier, "_Why_ were you looming?"

"Here." He threw something at me, which I caught neatly, feeling a little smug at the fact I did so as he threw something at Teá also, I held up what I had caught and frowned.

"Keycard?" I asked, not quite understanding, Kaiba nodded.

"Each of you has a room, unfortunately a few of you are sharing," he smirked, not making it sound unfortunate at all as he threw only one keycard with an orange tag on it at Joey, who looked from Tristan to Duke, the only others without keys now, with a look on his face that I can only describe as horrified. "There are two beds in that room, so I'm afraid you'll have to share." He finished, obviously enjoying the sheer disbelief that the three friends had plastered on their faces. Teá and I exchanged a look of amusement, well, it wouldn't hurt them.

"Think of it as..." I paused, trying to think of a way to soften the blow, "male-bonding. You can talk about cardgames and...whatever it is you do in your spare time..." I tailed off at the look they were giving me in unison before Teá's laugh at what I had said made me smile widely for the first time in months, smile fading as I thought of something; I turned to Kaiba.

"Just how _long_ are we going to be on this blimp?" I asked, frowning at him and jangling the two pieces of plastic against eachother with the number '4' on them frantically.

"About four weeks Callaghan. Taking into consideration where the finals are going to be held and travel." He answered, frowning at my reaction slightly. I had gaped at his prediction before muttering to myself as I grabbed my mobile from my trouser pocket, flipping it open and dialling a number before holding it to my ear and waiting for it to ring.

"God, I just-I don't know why I like you so much sometimes." I said glaring at him and turning away to look out of the window before I could see his reaction. "Hi, Mum?"

"SOPHIE! Whre are you? You weren't even here for dinner and then you left! I barely saw you!" My Mother's relieved voice buzzing over the line, I took a deep breath, about to regret the trick I was going to pull next.

"Mu~m?" My Mother sighed slightly, the expression sounding like a hiss of static over the phone.

"What do you want?" She asked, I could almost _hear_ her rolling her eyes and feigning exaustion. I launched into my improvised shpiel.

"The tournament that my friends and I are a part of? It's just come out that the quarter/semi and final-finals will be happening during...well...the Summer..."

"And?"

"And that means away. Ie, not here." I winced as I spoke, turning away from the window to face my friends, most of them crowded around the mini-bar in the corner and noting that neither Ryou or the new boy Namu was there. I anticipated the next words from her.

"I don't know Sophie...I mean, that means you'll be spending your birthday away from me, and it'll be with people you don't know-" I cut her off halfway through.

"Not true Mum, I'm friends with all of them." I said, fixing my gaze to Kaiba and narrowing my eyes at him. I also deliberately chose to neglect to mention the fact that there was the same homicidal and sadistic mind-controlling freak that took over my friends on the blimp too... the event which I had also neglected to mention.

"I'll have to think about it...but maybe you do need to learn what it's like to be away from your Mother once in a while..." She sighed again before she continued. "Will you be fed?" I eyed my friends, currently eating most of the food.

"Yes."

"Housed adaqautely?" My hand tightened around the keycard in my other hand.

"Yep, there's certainly room."

"Well, after your birthday, when you're seventeen ask me again." I winced again as I heard her words, judging by the sight outside of the window, we were already over a completely different part of Japan, I couldn't leave my friends and nor did I want to.

"I'm sorry Mum, my birthday's a week away and we have no time. I'm so, _so,_ sorrybutI havetodothisbye!" I rushed my last sentence, hitting the end-call button and quickly flipping my phone over, prying the back cover off it as it started to ring, I yanked the Nokia battery out of it and the ringing died, leaning against the wall and closing my eyes; I felt a headache coming on.

"I take it the news wasn't recived well?" Kaiba asked, smirking again, I opened one eye and glared at him before I threw the battery to him, he caught it neatly in one hand and inspected it.

"I just directly disobeyed the one person on Earth I love and trust because of your stupid tournament, some freak that likes screwing with people's minds and my bloody friendship, I'd appreciate it if you hushed for the moment so I can wallow in self-pity." I snapped at him, feeling a little disgusted with myself. It may not have been a big deal for many other teenagers to directly disobey their parents, but I was _very_ close to my Mother and being so..._different_ to my usual me was taking it's toll. I pinched the bridge of my nose and pushed myself off the wall. "Could you just..." I motioned the battery I had thrown at him, "I don't know, put it in a safe or something? I don't want to be able to get to it..." I raised my voice to shout across the room to my friends, who were eating and talking about something I wasn't paying attention to, "I'm going to bed guys...I've got a headache, I'll see you in the morning." I caught a few nods when Joey raised a point.

"You'll miss the first duel Soph, are you sure you want to do that?" He asked, shifing a pair of chopsticks in one hand as he held a bowl in another, I frowned for a moment, while I didn't paticularily like the game, I knew how much it meant to my friends and how much it meant for them to have their friends around them when they played. I was spared the navigation of such a delicate subject by Kaiba sighing exasperatedly.

"Just go Callaghan, I can't be responsible for your fainting during a duel, it would distract the duelists." He said with a disinterested tone as I stared at him in disbelief. Did Kaiba just save my skin? Instead of questioning this however, I instead allowed myself to smile slightly at him before almost bolting out of the room and into the first of many corridors on the way to my new room.

**~XxX~**

It had taken me several attempts to find the fourth room, but once I had found it I removed my jacket, blouse and shoes, falling asleep the second my head hit the pillow. I hadn't realised the downside to this plan at the time however.

It was two thirty in the morning and I was wide awake.

Well, in actuality, when I had woken up it was one in the morning, but I had spent the past hour and a half in the en suite to my room testing toiletries. I had decided that, at the very least, when it came to hotels, if KaibaCorp ever decided to branch out it certainly wouldn't fail. So now I was fully dressed, smelling like peach and kicking my feet backwards and forwards over the edge of my bed when a thought hit me. I was away from my clothing, my books, my laptop, my-

"Oh no..." I moaned and buried my face into my pillow. "My coffee..." I sat up quickly, pressing a hand to my head to stave off the headrush, "there was a coffee machine in the main room." I thought aloud, snatching the keycard to my room and stuffing it in my pocket as I left the room in a rush, already feeling the jitters of caffine withdrawal.

**~XxX~**

"Who're you?" I asked a man in a black suit and shades who was standing by the door as I halted infront of the coffee machine, reading the sign along the side and punching in the number for 'latté', the black machine chunked and gears whirred and whined inside it, as I was waiting I turned round to face the man, frowning at my lack of anything akin to an answer when I heard a voice behind me.

"His name is Roland, he's my new bodyguard." I turned to face Kaiba, who seemingly appeared from thin air."Callaghan." He said, aknowledging me with a nod and a frown, "Why are you here?"

I snorted, "Never mind that, how did you pull that magic trick? And why are you awake?" I asked, another 'chunk' signalling my coffee was ready, I retrieved it and sniffed it gently; not wanting to scald my nose on the steam.

"There is no such thing as magic Callaghan, I expected you to know that." He answered, avoiding both of my questions and somehow looking far less intimidating and far more accessible without his coat again. I hadn't noticed last time due to my deliberate avoidance of him before I apologised, but now...I hid my blush behind the cardboard cup as I drank a little of it, burning my throat slightly but ignoring it in favour of hiding my embarrassment, I gagged a little and looked around for the sugar.

"No side-stepping the question." I said, lowering the cup and narrowing my eyes slightly, still searching.

"There's a drawer at the top Callaghan," he sighed as I found the small back handle and pulled it open, setting my coffee back down and adding two sugars.

"You're still doing it you know." I reprimanded as he rolled his eyes and folded his arms.

"I was in my office if it means that much to you. Why do you need to know?" He countered, frowning at me.

"If you're going to appear out of thin air behind me I'd like to know how, plus, I've _had_ sleep. You look like you've probably been awake all this time." I shrugged before frowning back at him, he sighed slightly, sounding like he was just giving up with me before turning and exiting the main room through a door I hadn't noticed before. I stared at the door for a moment, thinking something over for several minutes before steadying myself for what I was about to do next.

"Hey, Roland?" I asked, turning to the man who finally aknowledged me by turing his head to face me, eyebrows raised above his shades to invite a question, I took a shaky breath before asking.

"How does he take his coffee?"

**~XxX~**

**A/N: OH MAH GAWD. IS THIS A ROMANTIC SUB-PLOT IN PROGRESS?**

**Why yes, yes it is.**

**And you'll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out how it pans out. SO HA.**

**(I love you really.)**

**Actually, y'know what? How about double-updates on Friday so I don't have to write during my Saturday?**

**Fuck it, I'll just do that.**

**~Ava**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I'm writing this directly after finishing the last chapter XD Oh, yeah, I put up my email and AIM on my profile, feel free to hit me up anytime~**

**And now you find out how Sophie fares, I have to say, when I started this fic, I wasn't that attatched to Soph as an OC, but I've actually grown to like her and I think of a new facet to her personality when I listen to music...I feel mental.**

**I'm not going to update on Saturdays hmmkay? I think I need one day off a week XD**

**Let's play, 'SPOT THE YGOTAS REFERENCE!'**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

I hesitated just out of reach of the pressure pad that opened the door to Kaiba's portable 'office' with two cups of coffee in hand.

"_Bad idea, bad idea, bad idea..." _I muttered, low enough for only me to hear before I took a deep breath and walked forwards, the door sliding open with a 'woosh' and allowing me entrance to a dark room, the only light streaming from a computer screen that dominated the far wall; a high backed chair directly infront of it, one off to the side and another pushed against the far wall. Kaiba looked over his shoulder quickly, frowning as I approached the desk and set the cup from my right hand down next to him. His eyes flicked to the cup and back to me before speaking.

"What's this?" He asked as I took another gulp of my latté to calm me.

" It's coffee." I answered, keeping my eyes fixed solidly on the screen to avoid eye contact, "I thought you might need it since you obviously don't believe in sleep. I don't know how you take it, so I guessed it was like mine, since we're both hard-working entrepenurs."

"..." Even when he was silent he sounded sceptical, I rolled my eyes and chanced a look down to him.

"Okay, I asked Roland how you took your coffee. Thanks Kaiba, thanks for killing the magic." I turned back the screen as he frowned at the cup again.

"I don't believe in magic." He countered, repeating what he had said mere minutes beforehand, I sighed.

"Everytime you say that, a puppy dies...or is it a fairy?" I frowned, wondering if I was confusing my books, "I don't know," I said, dissmissing the fault, "either way you shouldn't poke it with a stick...or clap your hands...I forget where this is going." I set my own cup down on the long desk, fetching the chair that was against the wall and rolling it over next to him, his frown deepened.

"What are you doing Callaghan?" He asked, sounding confused, annoyed and curious at the same time as I picked my coffee back up and held it to keep my hands warm.

"I'm planning to stay here, ask you questions, keep you company and generally try to have a normal, _human_, conversation with you without either one of us sniping back at eachother for once." I said, leaning back into the chair and pulling a face, "this chair probably costs more than my Aunt's car right?" His frown didn't budge.

"I don't need nor want your company Callaghan." He said with a sigh, I looked over his shoulder at the flash of white that caught my eye, smiling slightly at what I saw.

"Yes you do, your brother's asleep." I said and pointed a finger at him while still holding onto my cup, "it also adds further proof that you're actually decent sometimes." I stated smugly, finally feeling confident enough in my decision to look him in the eyes as he frowned at me before looking over at Mokuba, far-too-large-for-him coat draped over him like a blanket. Kaiba turned back to face me, I wasn't an idiot, I saw the way his expression softened when he looked over to his brother. He turned back to the screen with the picture of the red dragon Yugi had in a Duel Monsters card on it, typing in something and enlarging the photo again.

"That depends, is your Aunt's car a Bugatti?" He asked, avoiding eye contact with me this time, I felt myself smile a little at his unspoken, 'fine, stay.'

"Pfft, no. She's got an Audi TT, which wouldn't be a bad thing if it wasn't this...really tacky grey." I said, grimacing at the thought of the car, he snickered before answering.

"Then yes, I'm afraid the chair you are currently occupying is worth more than her car." I sighed after he answered, that...was alot.

"So," I said, feeling a little happier than I had thought I would at the chance of an actual conversation with my sparring partner, "who dueled whom and who won?" Kaiba frowned slightly, remembering.

"Bakura dueled Moto, who later won after playing his God card." His frown deepened, "the attack rendered Bakura unconscious, he's currently in the hospital wing." I gasped at the last half of his sentence.

"Ryou's in the _hospital_ wing? Will he be okay?" I almost raised my voice but remembered the sleeping boy in the corner, Kaiba looked at me, keeping his voice calm.

"I have only the best doctors on board Callaghan, he should be fine." I nodded, searching his face for a lie and finding none, I leant back into my seat, having unknowingly leant forwards to demand answers. I smirked a little as a thought came to me.

"Was that an attempt at assuaging my fears Kaiba? Am I to believe that you actually know how to deal with a distressed lady?" I said, taking another sip of my coffee as he turned back to the computer screen, keeping his eyes fixed pointedly to the writing on the card as he answered me.

"I didn't want you to wake up Mokuba with your impending hysterics Callaghan." I snorted at the answer.

"Yeah yeah...drink your coffee." I waved away his words and glanced at the screen, shuddering a little in my seat at the picture of the God card, knowing what they actually looked like. Kaiba frowned at me and then shifted his gaze down to the cup. I betted I could guess what he was thinking. I sighed over-theatrically, "Look, at the very least the arsenic I laced it with is fast-acting, it'll be relatively painless and you can get on with haunting Joey and freaking him out." I turned away to face the screen fully when I heard him laugh a little. An actual _laugh_ and not a sarcastic snicker.

"Whilst I admit the prospect of eternally disconcerting Wheeler is interesting, I'm more concerned by whether or not you made it correctly." I turned to face him, pleasantly surprised by the half-smile on his face. He was actually quite cu-_Sophie Grace Callaghan, if you blush now it will be the single worst thing you have ever done._ My mind cut me off from my inner girlish ramblings. I cleared my throat and smiled back, honestly this time.

"Well I wasn't _lying _when I said that I asked Roland about how you took your coffee." I said, closing my eyes as a memory aid, "black, one _and a half _sugars." I opened them again and feigned disappointment, shaking my head, "So specific..." He sighed at my act, sipping the coffee and analysing it.

"Hmpf...you actually make a good cup of coffee Callaghan, I think you've found your only talent." He smirked slightly, but not maliciously this time. I was my turn to laugh.

"I'm English remember?Tea and coffee are what we _do._" I frowned and faked anger a little, "and I object to the _'only talent_' remark." I said, hooking my fingers around the words as he raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really? I haven't seen you do anything paticularily _useful_ yet Callaghan." He said, a taunting yet mildly amused tone to his voice.

"I'll have you know that I can almost play the piano and taste wine," I said, feeling a little smug at his slightly shocked look, "but I have yet to spot a seventy-two keyed wonder or a lovely1852 French red on this floating egotrip so I _sincerely_ doubt I'll be of much use."

"...Wine tasting is a very..._specific _skill...you don't seem like the kind of person who would-" He said, trying to understand why I would have mastered that pretentious skill.

"-Learn how to taste wine? No, I don't, and you'd be right." I shook my head slighly and sighed, "my Mother is, however_, obbssessed_ with wine since she grew up on a vineyard." I smiled a little at the memory of the time she had taken me over to California to meet my Grandfather and see where she grew up, "she decided to pass_ 'the knowledge'_ onto me since I was ten. I'm not likely to use the talent much but it kept us close over the years. It's a family bonding thing now." I smiled at him and then frowned when he cleared his throat and looked away before looking back at me.

"Yes, well, Callaghan..." He paused for a second, seeming to regret beginning this sentence, "I apologise for your problem with your Mother, it could have been prevented." He said, looking at me dead in the eyes as I actually blushed now.

"I-it's okay, I know her, she'll be really pissed off for about a week before she'll just simmer down to general annoyance. We'll be gone for a month anyway, by that time she should be fine. I mean," I laughed, "she won't _like _it, but I'm not leaving _now_." I smiled at him, "So, does this make us even? We've both apologised to one another like adults, will I be able to call a truce that you'll actively agree to this time or not?" I proffered my hand, Kaiba looked at it for a moment before shaking it once.

"I agree on the condition that you do not _tell _anyone about the truce and if you actively hold up your end too." He said, raising an eyebrow, I groaned.

"Can't you just _not _be a businessman for once?"

**~XxX~**

**A/N: Well there you go, that's what you get when you sick an Ava in her room, give her one cup of coffee, (I love frappé lattés if you're interested, which you probably aren't), and keep her up until three in the morning as she attempts to write something halfway romantic-y but un-Mary-Sue-ish with Kaiba and an OC in it.**

**PLEASE tell me what you think of this chapter in paticular, as this is the whole point of this fic, to see if I can do an OC/Canon romance with, to be fair, the hardest charater to do so with, without Mary-Suing it up.**

**~Ava**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Writing this during my Saturday because I just can't help myself. I CAN STOP ANYTIME I WANT I SWEAR. ¬_¬**

**Watching my Death Note DVDs too, wondering just how different Light would have been if he actually had a loving family and friends that cared...FFFFFFFFF I'm now psychoanalysing anime characters. I really need to get a life.**

**HOLY MOTHER OF GOD THIS THING HAS BEEN MENTIONED ON TV TROPES. FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF I found it when a friend and I were IM'ing, she sent me a link to a Trope and, as everyone knows, you can't just look at ONE Trope, so I found myself in the "Notable Fanfiction" area, looked through the Kingdom Hearts index and then the "Yu-Gi-Oh" one. That was about the point I choked on my Mint Milkshake at the sight of my name and the line in the synopsis about "Not being able to recommend this fic enough."**

**AACCKK**

**And I have super special awesome news to give at the end of this chapter. **

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

"You can't seriously be thinking about letting this go ahead!" I half-yelled half-whispered at Kaiba as he, his brother and I were en route to the Duel Arena. After the two numbers that were Joey's and Marik's had been drawn from the lottery I had been astounded by the lack of protest. I had posed this same argument to Teá, Yugi and Joey without getting through and had decided instead, to bug a higher power. "He's a homicidal maniac! You _saw_ what he was going to do to Teá! To Yugi! To Joey! I mean," I paused for breath for a second, not letting him get a word in until I had finished my rant, "I know you don't exactly _like_ Joey, but come on! Letting him face a murderous bastard who has once before taken over his mind is something that anyone with a functional moral compass wouldn't allow!" He sighed, arms folded as he dissmissed my argument.

"I set the rules Callaghan, I could not and _would _not change them for any reason." He raised an eyebrow, looking at me like I was Mokuba's age, I did nothing to help that speculation by stamping my foot and balling my hands into fists.

"I on't _care_ about your bloody rules to your bloody cardgame Kaiba. I _care_ that a friend of mine is going to be facing a man who we could quite easily turn over to the police, if you just _landed_ this bloody egotrip." I was hissing now, I had said nothing in the truce about reigning in anger caused by the narrow-mindedness of his. I almost lost my balance as he held his arm out infront of me, forcing me to stop, I regained balance and realised that had I kept walking, I would have walked into Mokuba and a glass-"A lift? Why do we need to take a lift? Wait-" I waved away my momentary distraction, "_why_ are you letting this go ahead? This cardgame can't mean that much!" Kaiba frowned as he always did when I disputed the seriousness of the Duel Monsters, while I liked the game, I didn't see just how it could be taken as a means to take over the world.

"He feels the need to prove himself as a True Duelist Callaghan." He said, sounding faintly like he was trying to explain Evolution to a Creationist as he called the elevator, "Also, Marik has the third God card in his deck, if you think I am going to allow the chance to study it slip through my fingers, you're sorely mistaken." The lift arrived as I gasped, stepping into the glass cylinder while I continued to stare, unbelieveing, at Kaiba, I glanced at Mokuba for a second; who added something to the end of his brother's sentence.

"Plus, he's bound to have alot of other rare cards in his deck." Mokuba said, in a reasonable voice that made me feel like _I _was the mental one here. My mouth dropped open further as I practically lost it.

"ARGH!" I screamed through gritted teeth, drawing a concerned look from the younger brother and a raised eyebrow from the elder. "YOU-YOU'RE-YOU'RE LETTING JOEY DUEL A PSYCHOPATH WITH MIND-SCREWING POWERS BECAUSE YOU WANT A FUCKING CHILDREN'S TRADING CARD?" I squeezed my eyes shut as I shouted through my teeth, my fists balled so tightly that my nails were digging into my palms, "WHAT IS _WRONG_ WITH YOU? GAH," I slid down the glass to sit on the floor, knees to my chest, "GOD, I JUST-I WANT TO HIT YOU." I opened my eyes quickly, "I mean, I'm not _going _to," I added in my normal voice, "but damnit...you're just..." I exhaled loudly and rested the back of my head against the glass, "you're being _such_ a selfish prick right now." Mokuba opened his mouth to leap to his brother's defence but was cut off by Kaiba speaking instead.

"I wouldn't, and _don't_, expect you to understand Callaghan. You aren't a Duelist and have no concept of what it means to _be_ a True Duelist, or what a person has to do to earn it." He glared at me as I started to protest, "keep quiet Callaghan, I'm speaking," I narrowed my eyes but shut my mouth, "as for your latter point, if you thought I was hosting this tournament for any other reason than to obtain all three God cards you are _not_ as intelligent as I thought you were." I put my head in my hands at the back-handed compliment.

"I take it back, you aren't a prick," I sighed as I rose from my spot on the floor, "you're a hypocrite."

"What's that supposed to mean Callaghan?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at me slightly as Mokuba frowned heavily, I winced a little inside; I didn't like fighting with his brother in front of him, it felt so...pre-divorce parents-y.

"I went to visit Bakura earlier and was kindly informed by Teá that it took all of them hassling you, and finally Serenity _pleading_ with you, to send a freaking doctor to see him. Now, you are letting a known psychopath duel a friend of mine." I sighed, "If I remember correctly, you said that you couldn't have someone die in your tournament." His right eyebrow looked like it was trying to abandon his face.

"Hmm, so you actually _do_ pay attention sometimes Callaghan." He said, as I snorted.

"Of course I did, it's _you._" _SHIT._ I thought, visibly wincing now as I blushed as red as my hair and saw him smirk at me out of the corner of my eyes. The lift slowed and stopped as I kept silent, I could practically _feel_ the laughter he was holding back at my Freudian slip, I pushed past him and walked briskly over to Teá, shivering and snapping out of my utter embarassment in favour of utter confusion as to our location. Until I saw the clouds at a suspiciously closer angle, it took a moment for my frazzled brain to connect two and two to realise that we were ontop of the blimp.

"Hey S-" Teá stared before narrowing her eyes at me and, what I suspected, was my blush. "What happened to you?" She asked, folding her arms and demanding an answer as I smiled at her seriousness.

"I just spent ten minutes half-yelling at Kaiba about letting this farce go ahead." She frowned at my answer, grabbing my wrist and dragging me over to the rest of our friends who appeared to be cheering Joey on even though the duel hadn't started yet, she pointed at Joey on the top of the Duel Arena, shuffling Marik's deck.

"Sophie, you're just going to have to accept, Joey is _choosing_ to do this. He could have said 'no' to forefit, but he didn't." She turned to face me, "The most we can do for him now is to _support_ him in his choice, not argue with it." She smiled as I sighed in defeat and nodded wearily, "but, I would have paid good money just to see you yell at Kaiba for ten straight minutes." I snorted and stood myself inbetween her and Serenity, frowning up at the Duel.

"...Wh-Why is Joey still shuffling those cards?" I asked, puzzled at just how long it was taking him, Teá massaged the bridge of her nose.

"I think he's trying to intimidate Marik..." She said as I glanced at her, leaning forwards a little at the sight of lilac, I spotted the newest person to the finals, Namu, we hadn't actually met yet, but after this duel I'd attempt to introduce myself. That was, if I didn't die of embarassment everytime I glanced across the top deck of the blimp and saw the brothers.

"Alright Wheeler! You've shuffled enough cards for ten Duelists now! Take your places!" Roland yelled at Joey, who growled at Marik before handing him his deck, the man with the facial tattoo staring solemly ahead, like this was the single most important thing in the world to him. I rolled my eyes, wondering just how I was going to be able to support Joey if I really couldn't take this game seriously.

Marik drew his first cards and set two facedown.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: OKAY FINE. THIS IS AN ADDICTION. I CAN'T GO ONE DAY WITHOUT UPDATING. SO HOW ABOUT SHORT CHAPTERS ON THE WEEKENDS? XD**

**ANYWAY, SUPER-SPECIAL-AWESOME NEWS.**

**Since the deadline for this thing to be finished if I were to enter it into the competition has passed, I have no time-limit on this. So I don't have to limit myself to a short, hastily-written romance over one story arc..**

**Are you getting where this is going?**

**No? Well, let me paraphrase the ending of the latest YGOTAS.**

**WE'RE GOING TO NOAH'S WORLD, THE DOMA ARC, AND EVERY DAMN ARC AFTER THAT BAYBEH. Yes, I'm making this my main project for the next few YEARS guys. Why? Because the TV Tropes thing, (and the subsequent boost to the alerts/faves/my ego), I have realised that there is more of a...market for my little challenge-fic than I had thought when I first took up the mitten.**

**Well, that and I am SO DAMN BORED during my Summer holidays,when college starts again this'll slow considerably, but I'll still be going, hence the YEARS thing. XD**

**Hope you guys stick around,**

**~Ava**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: You may have noticed that I tend to skip over mentioning in detail the duels, there is a reason other than laziness for this, it's because Sophie doesn't care. She is more emotionally attatched to the Duelists that amazed by the game. I think this gives her a different facet to OC's generally put in YGO fics. At least, I hope it does and I'm not coming across like a pretentious fool XD**

**X_X**

**I've hit 30 reviews! That probably sounds small, but it means alot to me XD**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

I don't know when it came to pass but:

"FUCKING CRUSH HIM JOEY!"

I now was better than I thought at motivation.

"Uhh, Sophie?" Teá asked from my left, looking at me in complete bewilderness as I screamed, I paused and turned to face her.

"What?" I asked, suddenly switching to my normal voice as Marik played a new card, Teá sighed and patted my shoulder.

"Just...not so violent next time okay?" She asked, smiling at my newfound enthusiam.

"Oh my god..." Mai said, sounding disgusted as Teá and I looked to her, "_what_ is that?" She asked, pointing to the dueling field. Teá and I followed her stare before wincing a tad.

"That's just...not right." Duke said from the far right of Serenity as I grimaced slightly at the weird red...worm...thing.

"Holy hell," I hissed to Yami, "does that thing have an _eye?_" He nodded at my question, not taking his _own_ eyes off the monster.

"It's a very rare card...and it seems familiar..." He said, trailing off towards the end, I frowned at this before my memory of what Teá had told me about Yugi's..._other side_ came to the fore. I looked back at the eye on the freakish thing, which seemed to have swollen since I had last glanced at it, I suppose it _did_ look similar to the eye of it certainly wasn't _that_ eye...

"I will now sacrfice my monster to summon the most feared of all cards! The God card that lies within the temple behind me!" Marik shouted, pointing at the worm, which had wiped out all of Joey's cards while I wasn't paying attention, and it shattered into several holographic pieces. The golden temple behind Marik glowed ominously. "WINGED DRAGON OF RA! HEAR MY CALL!" I winced as Marik started to shout, his voice booming over the whole upper deck. Teá and Yami gasped,obviously knowing what this meant, I quickly turned to Teá.

"What's he doing?" I hissed again, she shook her head in answer as the entire deck was lit up with a neon green glow. I turned slowly back to the duel and saw why as I and the rest of my friends, were knocked back a step or two by a gust of wind.

A sixty metre high beam of light had shot into the sky and disappeared into the clouds, I shielded my yes with my forearm and when I'd lowered it, I gasped.

"Whoa..." I too, tailed off as I spoke, but my reaction was brought on by the sight of a massive golden dragon, looming over the entire deck. I shrunk a little backwards into my friends and chanced a glance across the deck at Kaiba, who had a smirk on his face.

"RA! OBEY ME AND CRUSH JOEY WHEELER!" Marik called, having turned to face the golden dragon which seemed to glare at him for several seconds.

"Look!" Yami said, drawing our attention to Namu, or more speciffcally, his deck.

"I-it's glowing!" Teá said, sounding as confused as I felt.

"Did he just say 'Ra'?" I asked, puzzled as to the use of the Egyptian Sun God's name useage, "Why is his deck glowing? Just-just _WHAT _is going on here?" I yelled the question, demanding an answer.

"He isn't Marik.." Yami murmured, looking at Marik and frowning, a look that I mirrored with equal fervor.

"Of course he's Mari-" I was cut off by Namu's deck glowing brighter before the dragon roared and lightning struck Marik in the chest. A collectve gasp went up from myself and my friends as he fell to the ground, Namu taking a step forward out of the corner of my eye.

"Odion!" He called to the falling man, to which Teá, Yami and I frowned at. We were stopped from acting on this by Serenity's scream.

"JOEY NO!"

Yami and I looked up, yelling the same a few seconds after her as Teá and Mai gasped at the sight of the slightly reckless blonde collapsing to the floor after a lightning bolt struck him too. Tristan was the first of us to recover from the shock, leaping onto the raised steps of the plaform and using them as a ladder to get halfway up when he was accosted by Roland.

"Hey! You! What are you doing? The duel isn't over yet!" Roland yelled at Tristan, who choked on his words.

"Open your _eyes! _Can't you see these two need medical attention?" He yelled as I balled my hands into fists, just_ knowing_ what the bodyguard was going to say next.

"That may be true, but look at their life points." I frowned, my nails digging into my palms, 200 LP apiece. "According to Battle City rules this duel is still in progress!" Tristan's mouth dropped open at the sheer idiocy of that statment. I took a deep breath.

"Who CARES about the stupid cardgame next to their LIVES? Seriously?" I yelled to enunciate my sentence, my patience having been worn down to the bone in the ride up here, said patience-wearer sighed disinterestedly.

"I don't have time for this Callaghan." Kaiba said, folding his arms and closing his eyes, rendering my death-glare useless. "The first Duelist to stand will be the winner by forefit." I gritted my teeth to prevent the string of profantities I had at the ready back, remembering the truce.

"Look!" Teá said, pointing at Marik, who scrambled to his knees before keeling over and staying down. Joey however seemed to be struggling to his feet. The second he stood and Roland declared him the winner, Tristan was helping him_ stay_ on his feet.

"You won man!" Tristan said, holding Joey up as the platform sunk into the deck, we crowded round the two of them as Joey shook off the remenants of unconsciousness, looking over to the prone form of Marik, sprawled across the field. He and Yami ran to him as he slowly raised his head.

"I am sorry Joey Wheeler, it was an honour to duel you..." He said as Yami helped him st up, I had wandered cautiously after my two most headstrong friends, frowning as I caught the tail-end of what he had said.

"...Fuck. You were right." I swore, scrunching my eyes shut and opening them again, "he _isn't _Marik..." Joey nodded as Yami frowned.

"She...she is right..." The tattooed man gasped the words out through, what I imagined, was alot of pain. My look of cynisism remained on my face as I found it hard to feel any sympathy for the man who had almos killed my friend, however, my friends were far less grudge-holding that I was.

"So then, _who _are you buddy?" Joey asked, helping the man stay up as I held back my choked protest, watching as he spoke and slowly pointed to Namu.

"I work for the real...Master Marik. Help him..." He lost consciousness agaim, this time for good as myself and my two friends shared a look of shock before we glanced over to Namu-the _real_ Marik-who was clutching his head before he turned to face us, snickering lowly.

"That's right fools...I AM MARIK." He laughed a tad inanely before clutching his head again. Teá held a hand to her chest as though her next revelation physically pained her.

"So...Namu..._lied_ to us?" She asked, as I felt a little sorry for her, my closest friend was undoubtably a noted lying-condemner. Marik laughed again, brandishing the same gold winged rod that Odion had had, before the lightning struck him.

"You really _are_ foolish, Namu was a disgiuse I used to gain your trust and the six locator cards I needed to get into the finals. Hahaha-" He was cut off from more demented pontificating by him clutching his head again, however this time, he didn't continue to laugh. Odion stirred a little, looking blearily at Marik.

"Yo, buddy, you got any idea what's going on with Marik over there?" Joey asked, while still watching Marik carefully, Odion answered slowly, taking his time to say each word correctly.

"Master Marik has a...darker side...one that we'd kept at bay for many years...help him Joey Wheeler, he is not like this...the hatred in him has made him thi..." I frowned at Odion's unfinished sentence, eyes widening at the low laugh behind us.

"Too long has that fool Odion kept me at bay, but now..." I turned to see Marik...or what..._seemed_ to be Mariklaugh with a deliberate malevolence that made me _sure_ that Odion was the least of our problems. "_Now, _I'm free. And you-" he pointed at Yami, who straightened his back while still crouched next to Odion, "_you_ Pharaoh, will pay for enslaving me."

**~XxX~**

"YOU JERK!"

"Teá that's a bit har-"

"NO SOPHIE. HE'S BEING A JERK."

"Maybe you should list-"

"SHUT UP JOEY." Teá and I yelled at the blonde in sync, the Teá grabbed Joey's ear and pulled him down to her level.

"You jerk! Mai wanted to know if she was your friend and you just acted like an immature _idiot!_" She stressed the last word, "I'm so angry with you right now, I'm not talking to you until you apologise to her." With that, my closest friend let go of his ear and stormed off. Joey rubbed his left ear for a second before turning to me to laugh, I rolled my eyes and flung my hands in the air, walking back to the lottery.

"She has a point you utter twonk."

"H-hey!" I heard him yell after me, "I don't know what that means!" I snickered at my usage of a British endearment and left him behind.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: If you're interested, "Twonk" is generally used to mean, "Look, I love you, but you're an idiot." At least, that's how we use it in my area XD**

**Sorry for no update yeasterday! Real-life happened. **

**Double-update tomorrow to make up for it?**

**~Ava**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: BLAAARRGGHHHHH**

**That is all.**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

"What the HELL happened to her?" I yelled as I saw Mai being carried into the hospital wing by Joey. I hadn't gone against Mai's express wish and had, instead, spent the better part of two-hours in my room, flicking through all 800 satallite channels on the TVs that were installed all over the blimp. Now, however, I was gawking at Mai occupying yet _another_ hospital wing bed after Teá knocked on my door and led me silently here.

"She faced Marik...he stole her memories and sent her soul to the shadow realm ." Yami answered me as I looked away from Serenity, who was kneeling beside Mai's bed, I frowned at him; he smelt like burnt hair...

"So Mai..." I started, confused as ever, "Mai's memoryless and now _soulless?" _I asked, needing clarification, Joey nodded from my left, a look on his face that I was thankful I wasn't on the reciving end of. I waited for the shock that I should be feeling, but it didn't come. "I...I don't believe it, I'm so numbed to this shit happening that I can't even be shocked..." I looked over to the doctor who was making notes of her blood pressure on a clipboard, "Will she be...okay? A-alive I mean." I re-phrased my original question, it was stupid, she couldn't be _okay_ without her damn _soul_. I took a calming breath before the doctor spoke.

"We can keep her stable, her vital organs are perfectly fine," He said, eyebrows raised to inspire hope in us, "but we don't know when she'd going to wake up. I assure you however," he looked directly at me, " medical science is doing the best it can and will contiune to do so." I nodded a little before taking a step backwards, towards the door, Teá noticed my move to leave and locked eyes with me, nodding slightly. I smiled weakly before exiting in a rush, resting on the wall beside the door, closing my eyes and exhaling heavily. I'm no good with emotionally charged atmospheres, but even I felt sadness at the possible perma-coma Mai might be in, I barely knew her but I saw how important she was to my friends, most specifically Joey. I snorted a little at that thought, even _I_ could see he liked her. My eyes snapped open as I thought that, neurons firing lightning-quick as my brain made a connecton as to who was dueling whom next.

"Shit." I hissed, before sprinting down the corridor to the main room.

**~XxX~**

"No. You aren't doing this again." I said as calmly as I could, knowing that the second I snapped, I would do something I regretted, "I _refuse_ to let you do this again." I was blocking Kaiba's way as I stood infront of him in the doorway to his office with my arms folded. He sighed.

" You're being unbelievably immature Callaghan, I've already told you; I'm not going to stop a duel from going ahead, _just_ because you ask me to do so." He matched my calm with his cool indifference as I raised him a sigh of exasperation.

"I'm not _asking_ you to do it for_ me_. I'm _telling _you to do it for _your_ life." He saw my sigh and raised me one smirk at my words, I blushed slightly at how my last sentence sounded and folded. "FINE." I said, the defeat in my voice evident as I moved out of the way for him to pass through the doorway. I mentally kicked myself as I reached out quickly and snatched his wrist, pulling him back to face me, a reaction he certainly wasn't expecting by the look that flitted across his face for a second before it was replaced with a frown.

"Callagh-"

"Hush it and listen." I hissed, cutting across him, tightening my vice-like grip on his wrist and _still_ kicking myself for even starting this conversation, "if that happens to you-" I pointed in the general direction of the hospital wing, "not only will Mokuba be left alone, but I-" I glared at him for several seconds, fighting back my blush and trying to think how to phrase my feelings which weren't even clear to me yet, I failed before I spoke again, not breaking eye contact as I was frozen to the spot, "I don't know why I'm worried," I laughed a little hysterically, "all you need for a sure-fire win is confidence and ignorance, you've got _bucket-loads_." I said as realised that I was still holding onto his wrist, I let go hastily as I cleared my throat and he did the same. He took a step backwards, as I had pulled him into my space to talk to him, and answered.

"I didn't figure _you_ for Mark Twain." He said, raising an eyebrow at my frown of confusion, _why_ did that sound familiar? As he smirked before turning on his heel and leaving, "I'm already going to win Callaghan, you don't need to remind me." The second he was out of sight I rested my forehead against the cold steel of the door, wondering how much a gun costs in Japan and thinking it would be best for me to just _not_ attend this duel either.

**~XxX~**

I had spent a half hour in my room, sulking around, before I decided that, (a), if I spent one more minute in the blue cube, I would smash something and, (b), I needed coffee to calm my shaky nerves. If I didn't get my coffee fix, today of all days, I wouldn't be able to control my nervousness. Regardless of my _muddled_ feelings, I still considered him a friend and I didn't want my friends to fail. Whether or not I would die of embarassment or humiliation remained another matter that I didn't want to think about for now. I steeled myself and flung open my en suite door, acting the stereotype of an angry teenager and slamming it closed after checking myself in the mirror as a nervous jitter. It was actually visible now, my shakes.

"Oooh, that is _really _not good..." I said, staring at my hands as I walked down the corridor that led to the main room and the coffee machine when I was partially winded by someone running into me. I looked down at Mokuba and frowned. "What are you doing?" He looked up at me after my question and paused in his run.

"Seto's in trouble! Ishizu's used a card that's-" His words came out rushed as I supposed he wished to go to his brother' aid.

"-Wait, who? What happened?" I cut across him and winced at how concerned I sounded, fourtunately for me, Mokuba was paying little attention to me and had turned on his heel halfway through my questions. I hesitated for a second or two before cursing the day I met Mokuba's older brother and running after him, I reached the lift just as he did and I bent double to catch my breath, seeing him look at me questioningly out of the corner of my eye. The lift dinged and we boarded, not being able to speed up the machinery.

"Why are _you_ coming?" Mokuba asked me, sounding a tad reproachful, I winced visibly; I knew he was thinking about my earlier insults directed at his brother. I leant against the metal bar that ran round the glass cylinder and tugged at one of my earrings, another nervous twitch. I needed my coffee.

"Look," I started, sighing slightly, "while I can only say that, regardless of a few hours spent with mainly silence and a few bursts of polite conversation, I barely know your brother," I closed my eyes, really not wanting to say what I was going to say next but knowing I had to, "I can _also_ say that I know your brother is a decent person when he wishes to be. I _know_ that." I said, opening my eyes and massaging the bridge of my nose and sighing again, "that's-that's _why_ I want him to succeed." I chanced a look at the younger Kaiba, noting that he had obviously learnt the perfect sceptical glare fom his brother.

"You _like_ my bro?" He asked, putting emphasis on the word 'like'. His eyebrow somewhere near his hairline as I tried not to blush and failed, eyes bugging out of my face as I stuttered madly.

"Well-I like both of you, I mean, I barely know you too but-it's just...I'm so damn curious!" I said, tugging on my earring even more frantically now, "you're both just such...confusing people, I mean, more him than you but I just...I want to know you two..." Mokuba folded his arms and smiled a little at my flustered explanation. Partially true anyway, I wasn't likely to tell him that I had a wierd hate/like crush on his brother since day one. "Look," I said, repeating what I had said before, " my like is very close to my dislike okay? I-I wasn't trying to hurt when I called him a prick okay? Just...take that from me..." I rested my forehead on the glass but snapped round to look at Mokuba when I heard him laugh a little.

"Yuh-huh, it'd take more than you cussing to hurt _my_ bro.." He smirked across at me as I smirked a little back at his proudness.

"You...I like you. You're not a whiny kid, I can take being around you." He smiled a little more normally at my words, choosing to shrug.

"You don't whine either." He said by way of a reply as I shocked him slightly by laughing loudly, he frowned at me.

"You're..." I sighed a little, regaining composure, "you're _far_ easier to call a truce with than your brother, _that_'_s_ for sure." The lift slowed, stopping us from further nervous banter as it dinged and opened.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: I instictually loathe this chapter, as it's romantic-y with an OC/Kaiba romance and, the reason above all reasons, I wrote it XD I just hate what I write, X_X**

GOD, THIS IS LIKE THERAPY. XD

**Other chapter after thiiiiiiissss~**

**~Ava**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: DOUBLE UPDATE? Why yes, all because of the skipped update yesterday, this will happen everytime I skip a day XD**

**# Come touch, my +5 to dexterity vest #**

**Sorry, I've been watching far too much "The Guild" lately.**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

One _other_ thing I could say about having my friends; I was getting a workout. I realised this as I ran after Mokuba onto the top deck of the blimp and out of the lift, I skidded to a halt at his abrupt stop and rested my hand on the kid's shoulder to keep myself upright as I caught my breath. Teá and Yami stared at the two of us in mild confusion before Mokuba shouted to his brother and I looked everywhere _but_ his brother, instead my eyes locked onto a woman I could only describe as beautiful; she had the kind of mysterious beauty of one of the _old_ films depicting Cleopatra, so much so in fact, that I felt like I should be offering her an asp rather than watching her play a cardgame. I shook my head free of Egyptian thoughts, the little I knew probably paling in comparison to those on deck's, speaking of which, I looked around the deck and my hand tightened protectively on Mokuba's shoulder when I saw Marik standing just few metres away, he had his eyes fixed on Cleo, regardless, I pulled the kid a little closer to me and took a step closer to my friends.

"You can't let her win bro!" I winced a little at the loudness of the shout that came from Mokuba as he yelled to his older brother, "you'll have to use your secret weapon!" I frowned, secre-

"Ohhh..." I murmured, knowing that he meant the God card that Kaiba had, I tore my startled gaze away from Marik and instead focused on Kaiba, "You'd better win this!" I yelled up at him as he looked at me, "Or next time, it really _will_ be arsenic!" A slight smirk and frown acknowledged my threat. I looked over to the woman again and frowned at her, she seemed so...sure of herself while Kaiba seemed a little on the back foot; a complete subversion of how I was used to seeing him duel.

"Uhhh, Sophie?" Teá asked from my far right, I whipped round and raised my eyebrows to invite a question, she frowned a little, "..." the corners of her eyes creased a tad with a repressed smile, "...nothing..."

**~XxX~**

"SIC 'ER" I yelled at the blue monster, not fazed in the slightest after seeing it so many times, I was still _awed_, just not _scared_ anymore. However, Yami's voice dragged my attention to Marik.

"Look!" He hissed as he, Teá and I looked over at the glow emmiting from the golden artifact, the others too engrossed in the game to notice.

"Wha-" I trailed off halfway through my words as Mokuba brought something to our attention.

"Huh?" He said, frowning up at a seemingly frozen Kaiba, "Why isn't he attacking?" I frowned along with the rest of my friends at the lack of any development on the field, this continued for several seconds when, instead of using the, already summoned Obelisk, Kaiba sacrificed it for the sake of a three-headed dragon.I stared at it for a second as it obliterated the woman's life points. My initial reaction to _this_ monster for the frist time was different to the fear I had felt at the God cards, this dragon was a work of art, I frowned a little as I saw it. It seemed so familiar, yet I was sure I'd never seen it played before...

"Nice one Seto!" Mokuba sad, punching his fist in the air with an enthusiasm I couldn't quite match in my coffee-deprived state, instead choosing to smile, stifle a yawn with my right hand and deepen my frown over why the _hell_ that dragon looked so familiar, I was still thinking it over when I absent-mindedly followed Mokuba agan, realising I'd done so, back into the lift we'd taken up. I whipped round to look at my friends, or more specifically and Teá with a mildly knowing look. The doors closed as I slammed my head against the glass.

"It's bulletproof Callaghan." Came a voice from behind me, I rolled my eyes.

"Oh hush you." I snapped, never being able to say 'hush's' harsher counterpart to my friends, I snapped my fingers and spun on my heel and pointed at the two brothers, "Lottery, _that's_ where I saw that damn dragon before." I said, smiling as I realised it and then frowning again, "...and the shower-head...and the little ornaments in your office..." I tailed off at a look from Kaiba that clearly said, 'shut up.'

"Mokuba," He started, looking down at his brother after shooting me the warning glare, "did you finish translating the text?" The black-haired boy shook his head.

"We've still got a few more lines of the paragraph to translate." Mokuba checked s watch as I frowned, stepping out of the halted lift and into the light-green hallway.

"What paragraph? Why does it need translating?" I asked, keeping pace with the two brothers on the other side of Mokuba, who looked up to answer my question.

"Marik's Egyptian God card, it's instructions and description was written in hieratic text." He clarified for me as I stared at him in disbelief.

"_Hieratic _text?" I said, shaking my head as I realised I had followed them into the office and saw the card on the screen, Mokuba took the seat infront of it as I walked closer to the screen; staring at the text. I laughed a little, "HA! Brilliant! Ohhh god, I wish Dad was a normal, cuz this is right up his street." I snickered, pointing at a zig-zag that was next to a bird, "all I know for sure is that's an 'e.'" I stopped talking when I noticed that Kaiba was kneeling on the floor, I moved a little cautiously towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder without thinking. "A-are you okay?" I asked, hating myself for the over-concern in my voice as he tensed under my touch and stood hastily, clearing his throat.

"I'm fine Callaghan, I have no time for this Egyptian nonsense." He fixed his gaze very deliberately on the screen and the text, eyes flicking over the text like he could..._read_ t? Mokuba and I shared a look. "You however," Kaiba said, startling me, "are shaking like a leaf." He raised an eyebrow while still avoiding eye-contact. I laughed a little hysterically.

"It's what happens when I go a day without _any _caffine whatsoever." I held out my hands infront of me and watched them jitter slightly, "I was on my way to _get_ coffee when your brother ran into me." I flitted a hand to the two of them, neither looking at me, "ahhh, I'll be in main room with fourteen lattés and an espresso." I turned on my heel and left, flopping down on the same leather sofa I had leapt up from only three days ago, I switched the televison on and found BBC Worldwide, showing re-runs of old Mock the Weeks.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: Yeaaahhhhhh, I tend to write short chapters after a long one XD**

**As always, revies are lovely XD**

**~Ava**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Oh god I'm hungry, hold on a sec while I go make myself a sandwich...**

**Mmm, salad sandwich...cucumber, raw red onion, sweetcorn, cheese, pepper, chilli nomnomnom...**

**OKAY! LET'S GET THIS FIC ON THE INFORMATION SUPER-HIGHWAY!**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

"_What_ are you doing Callaghan?" Kaiba asked as he walked out of his 'office' and over to the coffee machine as I flicked through the channels as I crossed my bare feet under my person, I glanced over to him while answering.

"Running up your electricity bill I think. Why?" I questioned as I stopped on an American music channel, "What are _you_ doing?" I turned back to the screen and frowned at the scantily-clad women on it, rolling my eyes and changing the channel again, muttering about Emmeline Pankhurst as I did so, he sighed exasperatedly.

"I meant, _what_ are you doing out of your room?" He eyed the screen like it wanted to borrow money from him, "I can already see _what_ you're doing." I mirrored his sigh and flicked channels again.

"Coffee plus insommniac plus a day already spent in a blue cube is enough to make anyone crave a change of scenery." I stopped on another music channel, Japanese this time, I listened to the 'rock' for a moment before sighing again. "_That_ isn't rock, it's so _forced_...there's no _true_ emotion there..." I heard Kaiba laugh derisively from my far right, I turned to him as he stood near the coffee machine as it whirred, I frowned, "What?"

"Of course there isn't Callaghan, its merely a publicity stunt." He said, as though talking to a five-year-old, "can't you see the stratagically placed brand-names?" I rolled my eyes again and flicked the channel.

"Yes, well, I get _that_, but that doesn't mean I _like_ it." I huffed, settling instead for the BBC 24 news channel, smiling at the English accent the woman spoke with, learning that Boscastle had flooded and wincing at the photos that were shown, I looked over at Kaiba, who had just recived his coffee, "you wouldn't make me one would you?" I asked, plastering an obviously fake smile on my face, he raised an eyebrow at me and smirked slightly.

"What do _you_ think Callaghan?"

"I thought not." I sighed as I moved from my comfy and warm spot on the sofa, putting my shoes back on and wincing slightly as I walked over to the same machine, sighing theatrically and punching the button for latté, frowning at his retreating figure I switched the tv off and invited myself into the same room after my latté finished making, smirking at Kaiba's reaction to the door swooshing open five minutes after he'd already entered.

"You do realise that this is supposed to be a _private_ office, don't you Callaghan?" He asked, not even deviating away from his amazingly-fast typing. I looked up at the screen, frowning slightly at the golden dragon on the card.

"_You_ do realise that you should've really listened to my advice back when we were looking for Yu-" I froze just before I finished my counter-sentence, remembering something I had said; something he'd repeated a few hours back. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, smirking behind my coffee as I took a sip, "Huh, you _do_ pay attention sometimes..." He gave no indication that hed heard me, still typing, I glanced back up at the screen, he seemed to be running a search for something and was constantly refining the search parameters. I sat in the chair I had dragged over last night and hadn't been moved, looking over to the sleeping Mokuba who, once more, had Kaiba's coat over him. I laughed a little, regardless of whatever downing events that had transpired today, the comfortable silence punctuated by the stattaco clacking of keys, was easy to relax in. For some strange reason, I felt more at home with the sleeping boy and the emotional brick-wall, I suppose because I felt more comfortable when there were less people in a room. The clacking of keys stopped suddenly after I had been in the 'office' for fifteen minutes or so, the lack of it seeming odd, I looked over to Kaiba to see why but was confronted by him staring at me with a half-frown on his face.

"Wha~t?" I asked, drawing out the 'a' in confusion.

"What do you _want_ Callaghan? He countered as I relaxed back into the Bugatti-chair, finding this the perfect instance to answer with a quote.

"I want nothing." I said, leaning back even further into the chair and sipping on my coffee, "I have good friends, good beverages and a sleeping Mokuba in the corner." I smirked at him, "this is the ideal life." He sighed again exasperatedly

"_That_ was _extremely_ paraphrased, Twain's probably spinning his his grave." Kaiba said, turning back to his computer, though his tone conveyed mild annoyance, I could swear I saw a slight smile.

"Good, stick a couple of dynamos on the man, maybe he'll be able to power my Mum's sense of freedom." I said, sounding a tad more bitter than I felt, Kaiba glanced over at me.

"I'm not your therapist Callaghan." I rolled my eyes at his words.

"Damn right you're not," I said, setting my half-empty latté down on the desk, as clear from the keyboard as possible, "I'm not paying _you_ fifty quid an hour to listen to my problems, you're my friend; you're supposed to do that shit for free." He didn't even stop typing as he answered me.

"I'm not your friend either Callaghan."

"Well _that's_ bull." I said, even though I'd expected the words they still stung a little, "I consider you a friend, you get no say in the matter. It's not your choice anyway." I countered, smiling at his slight smirk.

"...I _still_ don't care about your problems Callaghan." He said at my reasoning and turned back to the screen, frowning at the writing, I too, frowned.

"Well," I said, shifting in the seat to get a better look at the writing, "I care about yours, so what the hell is your problem?" He glared across at me before shaking his head.

"Nothing of y_our_ concen." He half-smiled again, "besides, if _I_ can't figure it out, I doubt _you_ would." I flushed at the combination smile and sarcastic tease.

"Jerk." I stated, smiliing as I picked up my cardboard cup and took a sip, for some reason considering it half-full now.

**~XxX~**

"So, is it the Semi-finals tomorrow?" I asked Kaiba as dawn started breaking, three hours after I'd originally wandered in uninvited to his 'office.' Those three hours had been filled by short bursts of fairly amiable conversation with sarcastic banter every now and then and long periods of easy silence, I checked my watch after speaking, 5:30am.

"No." He said, as my head snapped up from my watch.

"No?" I repeated, shocked, he shook his head.

"No, it will take us the rest of the day to get to where the Semi-Finals shall be taking place-" I cut him off halfway though his words, eyebrows raised in shock.

"The rest of the _day/_" I said, shock evident, "Just _where_ are you hosting these things?" I asked, pursing my lips in a 'not impressed' look at his raised eyebrow, "Oh don't give me that, tell me." He shook his head.

"I can't Callaghan-"

"I'm not a Duelist, it's not going to give me an advantage you know." I cut across him asecond time, though this time I sounded more reasonable at least.

"Callaghan, _you_ may not be a Duelist, but you are _friends_ with Duelists." I acted affronted at his words.

"OH. And _you_ knowing is perfectly fine? Need I remind you that _you_ are a Duelist also?" He smirked at mine.

"Yes, but as the _host_ of this tournament; I _have_ to know." I rolled my eyes at his reason, a smirk of my own on my face.

"Unbelievable. You are absolutely un-bloody-believable." I sighed and shook my head, rising from the seat I had claimed as my own, wincing, and sitting back down again. Kaiba frowned at me as I rubbed the heel of my foot and winced again.

"Problem Callaghan?" He asked, sounding vaugely concerned at my display of pain. I shook my head and winced again, flexing my toes and repeating the heel-rubbing with my other foot.

"Not really, I just forgot that I'd spent three days in high-heel shoes. It aches like hell." He sighed exasperatedly and turned back to the screen, still researching the card's power.

"Then maybe you shouldn't have _chosen _high-heeled shoes for this." I cut him off from taking more by pointing at him with my free hand.

"Hey! I wish to get one thing clear. I did not _choose_ these shoes for this..." I tried to think of a word but none came to me, "_expedition," _I settled for,_ "_Teá phoned me while I was drying my hair after I had gotten _soaked_ earlier on, remember? My _practical_ footwear was drying on the damn radiator when I came here." I huffed faux bitterly, "I had no _idea_ that I was going to be stuck on this floating egotrip for a _month_ with just the clothing I'm wearing currrently and with a psychopathic hypnotist on board." Kaiba smirked again at what I had said.

"Well, at the very least you look professional, rather than wearing sneakers with a suit." I gasped, about to unload a British pop culture reference at him when I paused, was that a very round-about compliment? I filed that away for the moment.

"I'll have you know that the best protagonist in a British sci-fi series so far wore 'sneakers'," I hooked my fingers around the American term, "with a pinstripe suit. He looked _perfectly _fine." I said, smirking and blushing slightly. I rose again, this time not wincing so badly and exited without a word, walking through the corriodrs to my room, where I stopped abruptly outside Teá's room, which was situated next to mine. I frowned, there seemed to be several voices coming from inside. I knocked on the door tentatvely and was greeted by Teá.

"S-Sophie?" She asked, stuttering over the 's' before leaping at me and throwing her arms around my neck, I was knocked back a step by her but awkwardly hugged her back, a frown on my face as she pulled back. "Well, that's _one_ of you out of the way..." She frowned at me and stood aside to let me in, I did so, if possible, even _more_ tentatively after her display of affection. When I was seated on her bed next to Yugi I looked round the room, the rest of my friends also there.

"I love you, but, what on _earth_ was that for?" I asked her, frowning, she frowned back at me, folding her arms and leaning on her back foot.

"_YOU _tell _ME _that!" She said, her voice raising slightly at the end, "we thought that you and Bakura had disappeared together!" I held up my hands and pushed backwards, signalling her to slow down in her, well-meaning, accusations.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up!" I said hastily, "_Bakura_ is _missing?_ Ie, our_ unconscious_ friend is _missing_?" Teá nodded frantically.

"I went to his room after placing his Millennium Ring with him and now he's just-_gone_." I placed my head in my hands, and I had hoped for a quiet, stress-free day. Joey spoke up from near the minibar with Tristan and Duke while Serenity was, I assumed, still with Mai.

"Hey, where were you? Cuz Teá went to your room n'all to get you and you weren't there." He asked from around a mouthful of...well, _something_ you ate with chopsticks. I cleared my throat uneasily and felt embarassed at being embarassed.

"I...uhhh..I was _elsewhere._" I said, inwardly wincing at the next question from Joey, the _last_ person I would tell.

"_Elsewhere_? What's _that _supposed to mean?" I gritted my teeth and briefly wondered why I was so inwardly against putting the Bambi-like friendship Kaiba and I had into words to a person who would quite happily punch him in the face, oh, yeah, _that_ was why.

"I was watching Kaiba do some research on the God card..." I trailed off at the look he gave me, his mouth open in shock and it seemed to be a look that was mirrored on Tristan's and Duke's. Teá however, had a look in her eye that mildly scared me, it wasn't shocked, angry or anything that would inherently worry me as to the status of our friendship; it was however, a look that gave me the distinct feeling that she knew all along and just wanted to hear what I had to say about it. Yugi on the other hand was more tactful in his shock at least, he wasn't looking at me like I'd kicked a puppy.

"Y-You did _WHAT_?" Joey asked, yelling a little at the end, but not _at_ me, more in shock.

"What?" Tristan echoed as I raised my hands again.

"Look, can we get back to the point here? _I'm _here and Bakura _isn't. _Do you think he's okay?" I asked, snapping the feeders by the small fridge back to reality. Joey pointed at me with a finger and two chopsticks.

"I'm not finished with you, but yeah, ya have a point." I nodded at his words and stifled a yawn with my hand.

"So? _Do_ you think he's okay?" I asked again as Yugi nodded.

"Yeah, he has to be, I mean, even if he isn't, we'll get him back." I smiled, once again astounded by the quiet confidence my eccentrically-haired friend was the owner of. I covered my mouth with my hand as I yawned again.

"Oh _god_ I haven't slept in two _days_..." I glanced over at the door and got up shakily, "Night guys, if we're going to be stuck on this thing for the rest of today," I pushed the red button in the wall and watched the door swoosh open again, "I'm going to spend it catching up on sleep." I waved and stumbled into my room, almost falling off my heels, removing my blue blouse once more and throwing it on the dresser, making a mental note to wash my clothing in the sink after I showered later, and fell into a dreamless sleep.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: HO SHIT. I'm done with the Battle City arc! My dear, dear readers, this marks a momentous occasion.**

**I AM THE FIRST PERSON TO WRITE A NON-MARY-SUE, KAIBA/OC ROMANCE IN THE BATTLE CITY ARC!**

**AND THEY SAID IT COULDN'T BE DONE! THEY SCORNED ME! BUT I MADE MY DREAM REAL! I DID WHAT NO-ONE ELSE HAS DONE BEFORE! SUE-AUTHORS, TAKE NOTE.**

**YOUR OC? IT CAN HAVE A REALISTIC ROMANCE! HMKAY HUN? I'M NOT A TALENTED WRITER, (feel free to correct me here and pet my ego on the way out XD), BUT LOOKIT; I'VE DONE IT. AND I'M NOT EVEN FINISHED YET! I HAVEN'T EVEN GOTTEN TO THE BIT WHERE THERE ARE INJOKES AND EMOTIONS AND AND AND!**

***puts on shades***

** /CSI:Miami**

***takes off shades***

**Tell your grandkids.**

**~Ava**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: OH, YEAH, I'm also going to be giving the chapters NAMES so, I'll probably rope a few of you in to help me with titles. Actually, review and comment with title chapters huh? I'll credit you in that chapter's A/N.**

**Ladies and gentlemen, Avalesca Farrell-Conquest, the London Ponce, proudly presents...**

**NOAH'S ARC! (Not **_**that**_** one)**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

I woke up as normally as a coffee-riddled wreck like me could with the Sun and my dresser's mirror conspiring against me to kill my corneas. I rolled over, but the damage was done, I was awake now; I rolled back over and glared at the digital clock on the plain metal side-table.

"6pm?" I said with a sigh, hoyking myself out of bed and stumbling to the shower, grabbing my discarded blouse on the way as I latched onto the doorframe to keep me upright while I staved off headrush. I ran a sink full of hot water and threw all of my clothing into it as I stepped into the shower, now knowing that the white dragon that served as the shower-head was called a Blue Eyes, I turned the tap and let the hot water drum away the rest of the fatigue.

**~XxX~**

Feeling fresh and once again smelling peachy-clean; I wandered down the corridor I knew so well now towards the main room to get something vaugely brunch-like, happening across a green apple I was two bites into it when Teá entered, I waved brightly to her, not verbally greeting her yet as she smiled and approached me, sitting on the sofa I had occupied only last night and grabbed my free arm to pull me down to sit next to her. I frowned.

"What?" I mumbled around a mouthful of Granny Smith as she smirked, that scary look in her eyes again, I felt the back of my neck prickle in apprehension.

"Sophie," she started, talking like you would to a spooked horse, "I am your friend, and as such I accept and know that you make your own decisions, having said that however," Teá sighed and smiled a little, "I want you to know that _Joey_, probably isn't the best person to have around when you're trying to say something." She laughed a little, "I mean, he isn't the _sharpest_ when it comes to girl emotions, so you really don't have to worry about him finding out you like..._him_...without you telling him so-" I choked on my apple when she accentuated the _him_, knowing who she was reffering to but inwardly slamming my head against a wall. Was I _that_ obvious now? I was spared more _horrifying_ embarassment by the blimp jerking manically, throwing us both off the sofa; me into the glass table and Teá into the wall. We both got back up, wincing and prodding various areas of now bruised flesh.

"What the _hell_ was that?" I hissed as I poked my right hip, feeling the burn of a bruise-to-be in it's place. Teá shook her head.

"I have _no_ idea," she nodded to the table I had slammed into, "you're lucky that's toughened." I laughed a little.

"Yeah, instead of being impaled, I was just beaten up." Teá laughed at my comment before she grabbed my hand and dragged me off the ground, pulling me along behind her to the naviagtion room.

**~XxX~**

"So..." I started, "do you know how to fly this thing?" I asked Mokuba as I stood behind him while the rest of my friends looked around, out of the massive glass windows at the seemingly endless ocean like I had before realising that Mokuba was manning the most techy, _important_, looking read-outs, Mokuba snorted.

"Well, yeah, if I _need_ to, but I let the guys bro hired do _that_ job, I just make sure they do it _well_." He said as he glanced at a few flashing lights that meant nothing to me, but obviously seemed to mean something to the trained eye. I laughed and lightly shoved him in the shoulder.

"You're amazing kid. You can fly this if you _need_ to." I laughed again, "Brilliant." I didn't realise that Kaiba was even in the same room until I asked a question and the answer came from my right.

"What...the hell is _that_**?**" I asked as a suspisciously ominous looking black tower loomed into view on an island in the middle of the ocean.

"_That_," I jumped a little at the voice, not expecting it, "is KaibaCorp Island, the tower is called Alcatraz." Kaiba answered as I quickly recovered from the shock to ask another question, this time directly to him.

"You have an _island? _Couldn't you have picked a nicer name?" Kaiba frowned at my question, a look on both his and Mokuba's faces that I wasn't sure I liked seeing, it seemed, _distant_.

"I named it the most fitting thing Callaghan." He said back shortly, "It is where KaibaCorp started after all." I frowned at that, looking back to Mokuba for an explanation.

"KaibaCorp wasn't always the world's number one gaming tech prducer and distributor, our stepdad used it to manufacture weaponry for the armies of the world." Mokuba looked over t his brother, who was paying no attention to us and was instead questioning the Pilot as to what the jolt was from earlier. "That is, before Seto took over the comapny and tore it down!" Said brother's head snapped round to look at Mokuba.

"Mokuba, that's enough!" He hissed, obviously not wanting all those assembled, (me included), to know of whatever it was that had transpired. Another jolt, harder this time, made us all lose our footing momentarily while another made us just scrape the surface of the water, I held onto the console to remain standing.

"What _was_ that?" Teá asked, sounding annoyed that she had been thrown to the floor for a second time.

"Yeah! Can you say lawsuit?" Joey asked as Tristan complained about a possible sprained ankle, I shot a look at Kaiba, the only other one to have remained standing; just how he managed it without holding on to anything was something I glossed over for now.

"Is this thing breaking down mid-flight?" I asked, frowning as he shook his head.

" No.." He answered me before shouting at the Pilot to report as the screen that showed our location overhead flickered to life.

"Greetings Seto." A kid of no more than...thirteen maybe, with green hair appeared on screen, a smirk on his face to rival Kaiba's.

"Who are you?" He hissed at the screen, "What are you doing to this transport?" The kid smired again as the Pilot informed us that _something_ was coming out of the ocean and we were trapped in a tractor beam towards it. Serenity clung to her brother.

"I'm scared Joey." She said, grabbing his arm and hugging him tightly as Joey laughed.

"Don't be sis," he petted her head affectionately, looking up at the screen, "Just who are you, ya little creep?" Once again there was no response as the blimp landed in an air hangar.

"I'm the _rightful_ heir to the Kaiba Corporation, Noah! Something that I shall have _back_ Seto." His eyes narrowed at the elder Kaiba brother beside me, who scoffed and ignored him. The kid shrugged, "very well, now if you will exit the blimp with your friends Seto, I can get to taking back what is _mine_." The green-haired kid emphasised the possesive word as Kaiba walked to the exit, the rest of us following. He frowned at us, mainly at Mokuba.

"No." He said flatly, "You're not coming, this is _my_ problem which _I _can very easily deal with." His eyes narrowed at me next, daring me to say something against him. I said nothing, gritting my teeth instead. Greenie didn't seem to like this development.

"I'm afraid not Seto, your friends are coming too, whether you like it not." Turrets on the high walls swung round, firing bullets at the metal surround of the exit, those of us inside leaping out of the doorway. I froze on the right hand side of the door, trying to figure out why _that_ didn't render me a weeping wreck on the floor, sighing and feeling that I was now enured to anything crazy after Marik, I growled, throwing my usual cowardice to the wind as we filed out of the blimp before Joey shouted.

"Yeah, we don't care what you say Kaiba, this is _our_ problem now too." A protective arm still around Serenity as Mokuba pushed past me to get to his brother, a move I mimicked to get to the front when we were directed to a narrow corridor.

"Okay, any idea just _what_ the _hell_ that was about?" I hissed lowly to Kaiba as all of us were sheparded to a second room, this one seemingly one large, cube-shaped motherboard. He stayed silent, "I'll take your silence as as a 'no'." I sighed before being blinded by light.

**~XxX~**

**AN: Sucky intro chapter, but then again, that how I feel about all these chapters XD**

**~Ava**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: ASDFGHJKL.**

**SO THERE.**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

"Who the _hell_ are they?" I partially yelled after lowering my arm from my eyes, my question triggering gasps from my friends.

"Not them!" Teá said, voice that seemed more like she was exasperated than scared.

"I thought we wasted these goons!" Joey added in the same tone. I frowned, so there was a history?

"The Big Five." Kaiba said, his eyes narrowing considerably at the five suited men infront of us as I frowned deeper.

"Gansley, Crump, Johnson, Nesbitt and Lector." Mokuba said, looking at each man with a bitter tang to his words.

"Uhh, explain please?" I half-demanded as Yugi answered me.

"They kidnapped Kaiba and held him hostage-" Joey cut across Yugi's speech.

"-Yeah, and _we_ had to go and rescue him!" I almost laughed at the tone Joey used, as though it had been _such_ an inconvience. The..._largest_ of the five spoke first.

"That's right! And when you destroyed our plans and our monster, our bodies were destroyed too! Only our minds were still trapped in the virtual world!" He said accusingly, slamming his cane on the ground to accentuate his point. The one who's eyebrows took up most of his face spoke next.

"Only Master Noah, after realising that we both had a common interest, downloaded us into _his_ virtual world with the help we needed to get _new_ bodies." I had no doubt that they would have continued pontificating, had Kaiba not sighed in disgust and cut across the thin one as he began to speak.

"Look," Kaiba said, facing them directly, "I've beaten you creeps before and I'll do it again, whether you have bodies or not." At his words the room around us rippled and changed to that of a jungle. I frowned, the Big Five no longer visible.

"What?" Teá asked, looking around at our new scenery, "where are we?" Another sigh from Kaiba before he spoke.

"Weren't you listening? We're in the virtual world." I looked around also, spotting some fairly large animal bones in the undergrowth around the edge of the lush clearing we were in.

"Uhh, guys, my Lara Croft senses are tingling..." I said, finding this situation all too familiar to a game I played back home when I was proved right by a giant russet dinosaur looming over us. Everyone backed away slowly before fleeing to the other side of the clearing as I looked across at Kaiba. "You said this was the virtual world?" I asked as he nodded without the smirk budging or looking away from the dinosaur. I took a deep breath, ignoring every instinct screaming at me to run. "Fine." I balled my hands into fists and glared up at the dinosaur for a second, my inner mantra of; _Dinosaurs no longer exist, this is a hologram. Dinsoaurs no longer exist, this is a hologram,_ on a loop before the claw came down and I closed my eyes. Opening them again when the claw of the dinosaur broke up into binary as it passed through us and re-solidified before it wandered off. I exhaled, shaking my head after my heart stopped racing, I looked across to Kaiba, who was wearing a self-satisifed smirk still.

"Hmpf. I've programmed better when that Noah kid was still in diapers." I rolled my eyes and resisted the urge to shove him in the arm.

"Oh well, hark at you." I snapped back, still a little on edge as I looked over my shoulder, seeing Teá drop to her knees to attempt to smell a horrifyingly large, pink flower. Her hand passed through it and she gasped.

"But it seems so..._real_." She said, looking upwards and frowning as I turned round to face my friends, who were all staring at whatever Teá had seen. Teá suddenly scrambled backwards quickly, hitting resistance in the form of my legs, I looked down at her.

"Are you oka-" I choked, froze and then laughed honestly for the first time of the day as I helped her to her feet, this time _not _resisting the urge to shove Kaiba in the arm. He frowned at me as I still laughed. "What the _hell_ are you wearing?" I asked, pointing to the carbon-copy of him in a _blue_ coat and, once again, carrying _The Briefcase_.

"Why are _you_, _there_?" Tristan asked, sounding a tad freaked as Joey agreed.

"I-it's like a...Cyber Kaiba." I snorted again at Joey's rhyme and then frowned.

"He's right though...where did they get a _you_?" I asked as Kaiba rolled his eyes at me as though I was being slow.

"It's nothing new, I used to duel cyber clones of myself whenever I needed to hone my skills." It was my turn to roll my eyes as I buried my face in one hand.

"Do I even want to know _why?"_ I asked wearily and heard the snort before the answer.

"Who else is better?"

"Oh _god_ I hate you sometimes." Kaiba raised an eyebrow as I remembered the last time I said that and the reaction I got. I sighed in defeat as the 'Cyber Kaiba' disintergrated in the face of the demo, 'Deck Master.' I frowned at this new change to a set of rules that I barely understood in the first place. The jungle fizzled away in favour of the green motherboard room again, the Big Five stretching above us as they spoke.

"You see," The large one began, their proportions stretching wildly as he spoke, "we need _new_ bodies. And _you_, Seto Kaiba, _and _your friends happen to have bodies just_ waiting_ to be used." He laughed madly.

"Hey!" Joey yelled, raising his fist to the _literally_ Big Five and taking a step forward, away from Serenity, "I won't let anyone control _my _body again!" He took another step and the floor opened into a hole underneath him, I gasped and took a step towards the hole while Serenity ran to the edge of it, shouting her brother's name when the hole closed again, I spun on my heel as Yugi and I yelled at the same time.

"What did you do with Joey?"

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU DIS-PROPORTIONATELY LARGE BAS-" I cut myself off from my own rant and pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling my blood-pressure rise.

"Serenity!" I looked up from the duel yell of both Tristan and Duke, standing infront of a hole which I guessed Serenity had fallen through as the hole expanded for them to fall thorugh too. A malvolent laugh from behind us.

"Oh?" The tallest of them said, smirking widely, "I forgot, it'll be easier to gain your bodies when we _seperate_ you." Teá was claimed next, Yugi running forwards to grab her hand and missing before I took a step forwards, just past Kaiba, and felt my patience snap at the disappearance of my closest friend; at least, I _would_ have snapped, had Mokuba not run towards Kaiba and the ground opened up; I registered the loss of ground support for the second time that week.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: Short chapter becuase I like to keep these things...ending on a...not a **_**cliff-hanger**_**, but more of a...scene break? Does that even make sense? X_X Forgive me, it's three in the morning.**

**~Ava**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: URGH, forgive any spelling/grammar general mistakes in this chapter please, I'm having to type with one hand as I practically cut through my right index finger whiile making the family dinner last night. But on the upside, someone ELSE has to make the dinner for a change. XD**

**And to one of my new favorite people:**

**WHY YES SOPHIE, START SMILING DEMURELY AND BEING A HOT SASSY ACTION CHICK ¬_¬**

**XD**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

I got up from my sprawled position on the ground, rubbing my head and finding a twig in my hair. I looked over to my left and saw Mokuba doing the same as me.

"You alright?" I asked, nodding at him before I frowned at the twig; wondering why I could feel it if it was supposed to be a hologram, I threw it at the undergrowth and heard a rustle after I did so as a squirrel ran out.

"Yeah I think I'm-Seto!" Mokuba cut though his own sentence at the sight of his brother on the ground, shaking him awake as I got to my feet, again cursing the fact that I was in heels on _this_ woodland terrain.

"Mokuba. Are you okay?" The kid nodded at his brother's words as Kaiba looked up to me and frowned slightly, "Callaghan." He stated flatly as I waved away his mildly annoyed look.

"Not my fault the Pompously Prickish Pentuplets decided to lob me in the same place as you." I said as I rolled my neck, I heard a sigh and heard the slightly amused tone to his next words.

"Quit the alliteration Callaghan."

"Fine." I frowned after speaking, looking both ways down the dirt-path inbetween the trees we were on, about to ask a question before Mokuba asked it for me.

"Which way do you think we should go bro?" He asked as said brother brushed some dirt off his cuffs and I stared into the undergrowth at the squirrel, it glared back at me reproachfully. My, _it's just a hologram_, mantra failing in this instance. I was snapped from my staring contest with the tiny mammal by Kaiba, who looked back over his shoulder as they were walking.

"Are you coming Callaghan? Or are you just going to glare at the virtual trees all day?" I looked up and walked quickly, catching up with them before speaking.

"I wasn't staring at the _trees_ Kaiba, I was glaring at a squirrel." The look both brothers gave me as we walked making me rationalise _why_ to them, "I threw a twig at it and totally knackered the squirrel, but..." I sighed, trying to think of a way to say, _the hologram is real_, without sounding like a madwoman. I didn't have to as Kaiba frowned at my words.

"A twig? As in, a twig that you could _feel_?" I nodded at his words.

"Well, it was lodged in my hair, I'm pretty sure I could _feel_ it."

"Hmm," He frowned deeper, "there's no way that little twerp, Noah, created holograms that simulate _touch_ on his own..." I smirked.

"I wasn't aware that the word, '_twerp_', was in common usage in Japan..." I trailed off, thinking of something, "What about our friends?" I asked, feeling a pang on emotion at the thought of Teá being hurt, she _had _disappeared on her own...

"I've told you before Callaghan, they _aren't_ my friends." I snorted as Mokuba frowned in confusion at my reaction, still walking.

"Mhmm," I avoided tripping over a pothole, "you keep telling yourself that Kaiba." My brain caught up with my ears, "Nice to know you aren't including me in the _they_." He glared at me for a second.

"I can't get _rid_ of you Callaghan, you're _always_ there." He said sounding mildly amused at my faux disgusted sigh halfway through his words as I smirked.

"Damn right I-WHOA!" I stopped dead in my tracks, almost walking into Mokuba who had halted infront of me. I gawked at the building that we had stopped infront of, it was sprawling across the land like some kind of spider, I felt the atmosphere to my right tense as Mokuba spoke.

"Oh hey! Isn't this the Orphanage where we grew up Seto?" Mokuba asked, slightly frowning at the building, "Huh, I didn't think this thing was still around..." Kaiba snorted.

"No, this must be a virtual version of the Orphanage..." He frowned even deeper, "which means that Noah has managed to get his software to read our memories of this place and turn them into this." I had momentarily frozen when Mokuba said the word, 'Orphanage', I had no idea...I glanced across at Kaiba, well, it certainly explained some things...

"Hey look Seto! It's us!" Mokuba pointed at a small child of maybe five who was sitting on a swing; a mass of black hair confirming it to be a younger him. My heart lurched uncomfortably at the sight of a ten(ish) Kaiba; smiling, cute and apparently sweet as he patted his brother's head while the younger Mokuba spoke.

"I don't like it here Seto..." A sniffle from the youngest, indicating that he'd probably been crying, "the kids are mean..." While it was no secret that I didn't paticularily like anyone under fourteen, I felt myself wanting to hug the kid.

"It's okay Mokie," I felt another lurch as the younger Kaiba tried to cheer up his, slightly down, brother, "we'll get out of here soon, but until then, all we have is eachother." The scene fizzled away, only to be replaced with a new one; the two brothers, both still younger, playing chess.

"Aww man!" The younger Mokuba said, laughing slightly as he stared at the chessboard his brother and he were playing at, "you beat me _again _Seto!" The past Kaiba-_hang on_-I cut my inner monolouge off, _orphan equals different last name, and really, _I glanced quickly at the present Kaiba on my left; staring resolutely ahead with a faint tic on his cheekbone, _I can't compare the two. _I glanced back to the scene again.

"You could beat me Mokie," a sigh of highly amused irritaion from the past..._Seto_, "if you just _focused_!" He started to re-set the board before the TV caught his eye.

_"-And Gozaburo Kaiba has cemented his place as the worlds Number One chess-player for the FOURTH time running!"_ I frowned at the telvision, _he_ had the last name..._The name, "Gozaburo," sounds horribly familiar..._ I thought, vaugely remembering it from something or other.

"I liked those days better..." The present Mokuba said, pressing his hand against the glass window that we were looking through. Kaiba shot him a look.

"You preferred it back in this dump?" Was the shocked reply as Mokuba scrunched his eyes shut, as though he was physically pained by the half-shout.

"YES!" He shouted, taking both Kaiba and I aback slightly, "At least when we were here you_smiled_! And you used to call me 'Mokie'!" Eyes still shut tight, Mokuba balled his hands into fists, "But that all changed once we were adopted!" I felt my heart lurch once more and I took a half-step forwards, just as the ground under the kid crumbled and he fell. In a split-second Kaiba and I had leapt forwards, each grabbing one of Mokuba's arms, I gasped as I took half the force of his body and heard the grunt from my right as Kaiba did the same.

"Callaghan, don't drop my brother." There was something about the way that Kaiba said those words that made me feel like he would personally kill me if that happened, I growled as I helped pull his brother up.

"Oho-ho-ho," I winced as we pulled Mokuba onto land, "you are so getting hurt for thinking that I'd do such a thing." The second he was on land Mokuba hugged his brother tightly, I unthinkingly leant against Kaiba, catching my breath. "God," I panted inbetween breaths, "I love you both, but what the hell have you been eating kid? Rocks?" I heard a slightly muffled snort from the folds of Kaiba's trenchcoat, "And _you_," I shoved Kaiba as hard as I could in my energy depleted state; he barely budged, "if you _ever _doubt my commitment to saving a friend again, I'll-" I paused for a second, wondering what I'd do, "Well, I probably can't do anything to you." I admitted, hearing an identical snort from my leaning post, "But I'll probably stop hanging around." Another snort.

"That doesn't sound like a threat Callaghan." He paused for a second as I grabbed onto his shoulder to push myselff back to my feet, "Unless you've misunderstood the concept of a _threat_." I rolled my eyes as I brushed supposedly _virtual_ dust off my blouse.

"Oh you'd miss me Se-ack-Kaiba." I fumbled over the name I inwardly referred to his younger self as while he and Mokuba got to their feet, he shot me a momentarily undiscernable look before it was replaced with a raised eyebrow.

"Thanks you guys," Mokuba said, detatching himself from his brother and frowning down at the sheer drop five meters infront of us, "I thought this virtual world wasn't able to be such a danger..." I frowned also.

"Hmm," I made a vaugely agreeing noise, "And that twig was real...I could _feel_ it..." Kaiba glanced around our landscape as it started to change back to the Orphanage.

"We'll have to be more careful fom now on." I 'hmm'd' another agreement before smirking.

"My charm, my wit, my _ravishingly_ good looks." Both brothers looked at me like I'd finally lost it, "Oh don't mind me," I said, flitting a hand to the two of them, "I'm just listing the things you'd miss about me-" At my words Kaiba smirked at me at the same time Mokuba laughed. "My conservative coffee drinking-"

"-Your chattering, your general annoyance, your _constant _invasions of privacy." Kaiba cut across me mid-sentence, I smirked but at the last point I glanced away from the two of them, towards the Orphanage. I sighed.

"I'm sorry." Kaiba's eyes narrowed at my words.

"We don't want or need your pi-" I snorted at his.

"Psh, I'm not _pitying_ you." I waved away what he had said, "GOD no, I hate it too, al the time after Dad left," I rolled my eyes, " though I didn't get it on _your_ level," I added seriously, "but nooo, I can't stand that pity-squint either, I know they have good intentions but-" Another glare.

"Get to the point Callaghan." Kaiba said, frowning at me. I sighed and took a breath, looking bsck to the brothers at making eye contact with both of them before locking eyes with Kaiba.

"I'm sorry for being _here_." I sighed again, "it's the _ultimate _invasion of your privacy, it's your _childhood_, hell," I snorted and gestured somewhere over my shoulder, "I bet even Yugi doesn't know this whole-" I outlined a circle with my hands, "-thing..." Another raised eyebrow from _both_ the brothers this time.

"But," Mokuba started, frowning slightly at me, already having gotten over the shock from earlier, "it's not your fault, I mean, you've already said so too." I laughed a little.

"HA! Yeah, I _know_ it's not my _fault_, but I'm still apologising. Just...so you two know that I'm not exactly _filing_ this information away to, I don't know" I shrugged and tried to think of something that someone would do with this info, "_sell _it or something." Kaiba snorted as I tried to fathom what the _hell_ the expression on his face meant.

"Hmm," a non-committal noise, "you'd better _not_ Callaghan." He frowned at me until I clapped my hands over my heart and took a step back, as though the very _notion_ that I would pained me. Mokuba smirked at my display.

"Oof, that statement has wounded my very _heart _Kaiba." I shook my head and laughed slightly, taking the step forwards again, "I am _shamed_ that you don't trust me." I said with a smile that contested my last statement.

"I _barely_ trust you Callaghan." He sighed as the scenery solidified into the Orphanage again, this time in the concreted plaza infront of it. I scoffed as I moved to stand next to him, lowering my voice as though the approaching hologram of a man in a red suit could hear me.

"_Barely_ implies some form of trust," I whispered, "who's he?" I nodded at said man, taking note of the look of pure hate that _both_ brothers had on their faces, admittedly Mokuba's was less hateful due to the fact that he was _literally_ as cute/innocent-looking as the squirrel I'd knackered earlier.

"_That's_ Gozaburo." Mokuba answered my question with an eye-narrow at the man.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: Why yes, I was in pain while writing this chapter but like I said, THIS IS AN ADDICTION! That and with the painkillers I'm taking, there's a 50/50 chance that I'm being stabbed right now and I don't know it.**

**Why yes, that was a reference XD**

**RIGHT, I NEED YOUR HELP! I need to know whether you guys think Sophie is a Mary-Sue, I need to know how you think that her's and Kaiba's interaction is going and I need to know whether or not you guys would pick envelope One or Two. The last question was real too by the way, I've been wondering what a paticular character would say/do and I couldn't decide. SO, the plot bunnies were stuffed into envelopes and I need you guys to choose one.**

**~Ava**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: AHAHAHA I've just realised something. I'm not having to write anything with the other charactetrs in it for a while. X_X Oh yeah, what do you guys think of my NON-BASHY-TEÁ ways? I like her actually...but I like the manga version better. She's more..."I'll hit you if you hurt Yugi/Jou/Honda" rather than, "OOOOH LOVE HEARTS FLOWERS."**

**And yeah, "knackered" is London slang for concussed/hit-something-in-such-a-manner-that-it-falls-or-runs. XD**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

"Niiice." I whistled lowly as Ka-_Seto_-beat Gozaburo at chess. I nudged the present Kaiba at my right in the arm. "_That_, was nicely done." Mokuba smiled proudly from the other side of Kaiba.

"Yeah! My bro beat him fair and square, and only in five moves!" I pouted, impressed.

"I reiterate. Niiice." I said as I nodded my head towards the scene behind the window, "So.._." _I tailed off, looking at the ground as my eyes widened. I grabbed both brother's hands and yanked them roughly towards me as I took a step backwards, the ground where they had been cracked loudly. Not breaking, but cracking. Both brothers collided with me then regained their balance, glaring at me with varying degrees of confusion and mild embarassment at the fact that my hands were still clamped round theirs. I let go hurriedly, pointing at the cracks wordlessly by way of explanation and distraction from my blush.

"Hmm," Kaiba looked over at the cracks that were slowly spreading as Mokuba took a step backwards from being literally level with my hip, Kaiba looked back at me and then over my shoulder, "we keep moving." He stated, leaving no room for negotiations as I got the niggling feeling that he was playing chicken with me considering last time I'd pulled him this close he stepped out of my space the second I let go. My inner niggle was proved correct by the smirk he gave me when I looked away with a blush and a throat clear, I hissed at him once the three of us resumed walking, Mokuba still probably hearing me.

"I _hate_ you sometimes." I rubbed my bare arms as a gust of virtual wind hit us, Kaiba smirked.

"We've been here before Callaghan, not to mention that directly contradicts what you said mere minutes ago." Was his slightly smug answer, I scoffed.

"The two emotions aren't mutually exclusive you know." I snickered as I looked down at Mokuba, startlingly he was the fastest out of us, "I can quite easily multi-task the two emotio-" I was cut off by Mokuba breaking into a run and Kaiba following him, it took me a second to recover before I bolted after them, once more _cursing_ my footwear.

**~XxX~**

"Did he just say that even after _three years_ you had to freaking _earn _your last name?" After I had caught up with the two I had been treated to seeing the mansion they lived at-or at least the _virtual _version-and I had felt increasingly like I was reading someone's diary. Both brothers glanced across at me. "And he made you study _solidly_." I said, still sounding incredulous as I looked at Kaiba.

"...He's dead now Callaghan." Was the answer I got, I could almost _hear_ the '_good_' behind his words, I raised an eyebrow.

"Well I can't say I'm _surprised_." I sighed as the scene fizzled, "He doesn't exactly seem like a man without enemies." Mokuba snorted at my words, I frowned, wondering why, before turning my attention to the young Seto who flopped onto the sofa in his room.

"Urrgh," I smiled inwardly, the past was so much more human than the present, "if I see one more textbook I'm gonna barf..." I snorted, drawing a look from the present, I shrugged.

"Hey, I'm going to say this once and once only, you were cute _AND_ sweet." I looked down at Mokuba, "And with you, there's no _were_." I snickered at the kid's smirk. I had a feelingthat he used that to his advantage sometimes, the older Kaiba was now glaring at me with the undiscernable look he'd given me back when we were looking for Yugi. I watched the butler of the household-Hopman-place a textbook infront of the past Seto. I snerked, feeling horribly shallow at the first thought that popped into my head: _Why's his face melted?_

_"_Grahh..." Seto threw the book to the side, it opened, revealing that the pages had a rectangular cut in them. He picked up the book and took out what was hidden in the gap, Duel Monsters cards and a note. "Dear Seto, they can take away our games but they can never seperate us. We're a team!" The past Seto read the note, now obviously from Mokuba as I felt myself warm indefinitely towards the two brothers, now fully resigned to my affections for them. The younger Seto leafed through the cards that were enclosed, "They may not be the best cards, but they're mine." He stopped at a card that was made of paper, "Huh? What's this?" He took it out of the deck, a very crudely drawn dragon on it, "Mokuba made me Blue Eyes?" He stared at the card for a little while before he walked out onto his balcony, still holding the card. "One day, I'll have the _actual_ card." He said as the scene fizzled once more and we were left in blackness. I moved a little closer to the brothers for safety.

"Well," I said, breaking the silence, "you have all _three_ now..." Kaiba looked to his left at me, a slight smirk on his face.

"Of course I do." I sighed exasperatedly at his smug tone, smirking back at him as I looked over at Mokuba.

"And you've barely changed." The kid smiled and shrugged.

"Of course I haven't." He mirrored his brother's tone and stance as I smiled at them, looking around our black surroundings and deciding that this was a good a time as any to start talking.

"My parents divorced when I was thirteen because my Dad was a philandering prick with another family, I turned into an off-the-rails-bitch 'til some kids put me in the hospital where I reassessed my attitude and Mum took me out of schooling_'," _I hooked my fingers around the word, "and until I met you lot, my Mum was my best friend." I snapped my fingers, "Ooh, and when I first got here I noticed the KC building and thought it was_ mental_." I said, glancing at Kaiba. Both of them frowned at my unprovoked information-dump.

"Wh-" Mokuba started, looking at me like I'd snapped.

"-I know _all_ about _your_ childhood baggage," I snickered and pointed to myself, "to even it out, you two now know all mine. Admittedly," I said with a grimace, "mine is nowhere _near _as bad as your's but..." I paused for a second, looking to Kaiba next, "you can think of it as collateral." I smiled slightly. Mokuba nodded at my explanation and smiled at me before speaking.

"Well, it's only fair." I snorted and smiled back, all three of us turned sharply to look behind us at the sound of slow clapping, Noah emerging from the darkness.

"Very touching, you three." He said, smirking malevolently as my mouth bypassed my brain.

"...That's lame." I said before my eyes widened at the fact that I'd said that out loud. Noah glared at me, seeming like he was trying to gut me with his eyes. "Just...sarcastic and slow hand-clapping is so...cliché..." I trailed off my explanation at the look of pure irritation on his face. I cleared my throat and took another step to my right, closer to the brothers.

"What do you _want_ Noah?" Kaiba asked, sounding as annoyed as Noah looked, said kid looked away from me before locking eyes with Kaiba.

"Why, all I want is what's _mine_ Seto. Something which I assure you, I'll get back." He snickered, "Along with everything _elsee_ that's yours..." His eyes slid to Mokuba before he took a step backwards, Kaiba glared at him as Noah melted into the darkness again. We stood in silence for a little as the woods fizzled back into view until I broke it.

"Well _that_ was pointless."

**~XxX~**

**A/N: Yeah yeah yeah, it's short XD FFF My mum just slapped me across the face for saying that "Selene" from "Underworld, (the film), was a Mary-Sue. Luuurvley family bonding.**

**¬_¬ Jack, choosing both envelopes is a cop-out. XD**

**YOU LOT, MY READERS? I KNOW YOU'RE READING THIS ¬_¬ I HAVE OVER 2000 HITS A CHAPTER. START REVIEWING.**

**~Ava**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: O_O I just read a fanfic where Harry Potter was a hermaphrodite who married an insatiable sex-fiend Severus. Along with Remus/Sirius, Draco/Ron and Herminone/Blaise. With lemons. And telepathy. My god, the Bastion is lucky to have literary masochists such as us writing for it.**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

"...Because weird doors that just _stand_ there in the middle of the woods aren't suspicious _at all_." I said sarcastically as the three of us stood staring at said door, it had materialised infront of us about a minute ago and we were now debating whether or not we should go through it. Mokuba frowned at it.

"The gang could be on the other side." He said, sounding uncertain as Kaiba glared at it like it was trying to steal something from him.

"It's more likely a trap that Noah set for u-" He was cut off by Mokuba shrugging and opening the door, stepping through it. Barely a second later Kaiba followed, probably to, (lightly), scold Mokuba for doing such a thing. I sighed, following and gasping at the place we stepped out into.

"It's a change of scenery at least." Kaiba mused as I stared at the beach. It was an actual _beach_ at _sunset_. Mokuba walked to the edge of the shore and gesticulated wildly, partial amusement in his voice as he yelled at the sky and probably Noah.

"I DON'T CARE IF IT'S THE BEACH! I DONT WANT TO BE AT A VIRTUAL BEACH, FOREST, CITY OR EVEN A VIRTUAL THEMEPARK! I JUST WANT TO BE BACK ON THE BLIMP! IN THE REAL WORLD!" He sighed disgustedly while Kaiba smirked and walked past him, "Urgh, and I feel like I haven't eaten in _ages_." I snickered as I took off my shoes and sat down in the sand, not caring that it was virtual for the moment, and set about the heels of my shoes with all my strength.

"Callaghan, what on _earth_ are you doing?" An exasperated voice asked from my far left as Mokuba sat cross-legged next to me, glaring at the v-sun. I snerked as one heel came away with a sharp _snap_.

"I'm improvising Se-sigh-_Kaiba._ _You_ try wandering around this place in high-heels for several hours..." There was a pause from him.

"So you're snapping the heels _off_ the shoes Callaghan?" I could practically _hear_ the smirk in his voice as I sighed in defeat and glared to my right.

"I don't care. I'm tired of feeling like the _stupid _shoes are conspiring against me to break my ankles." I started on the next one, pulling the black plastic away from the red suede.

"Hey! Seto! Look at this!" I heard Mokuba's voice from several meters behind me, I marveled at his ninja-like quietness and movement as I scrabbled to my knees and then stood while holding my, now pumps, in one hand before walking over to the two brothers and frowning at the small TV that was buried under a small sand dune.

"Is that...Noah?" I asked, staring at the green-haired brat who was standing in what seemed to be a court-room, I gasped as the camera angle cut away to a familiar face, "TEÁ! She's alright!" I smiled fully and felt a weight lift of me at the knowledge that my best-friend was still okay.

"And Yugi and Joey are there too!" Mokuba said, looking over his shoulder to me with a smile. Good, three down, three to go. We turned our attentions back to the screen, confusion increasing at Noah's words.

"So.." Mokuba started, frowning at the fact that Noah seemed to be willing to stop the current duel due to cheating on the Big Five's part, "he has respect for the game?" I shook my head even though Mokuba wasn't looking at me.

"I don't think he's emotionally _heathly_ enough for that..." I tailed off before hearing Noah speak again.

"I dislike your _constant_ disobeyment of my rules Johnson." The green-haired boy moved to banish the Lawyer before Joey stopped him. I sighed at Joey's willingness to continue if Johnson just stopped cheating.

"Or he just _hates_ having his 'authority' undermined." I rolled my eyes as I hooked my fingers around the word and turned my back to the two brothers along with the TV. I sat heavily down in the sand again, putting my 'new' shoes on and glaring at the black plastic that sat a few metres away from me, I sighed sadly and placed my head in my hands.

"Hey, it's okay Sophie." Mokuba said, looking over to me, sounding slightly concerned, "We're gonna find out where the gang are and then we're all getting out of this virtual dump." I massaged the bridge of my nose to stop me from crying before sighing again.

"You're damn lovely kid, I hope you know that." I looked up from my hands and smiled to him a tad weakly, "But I _know _we're doing all that..."

"Then stop moping Callaghan. I can't be dealing with your over-emotiona-" I laughed hysterically at Kaiba's words before flitting a hand at them.

"Good god. Did you think I was upset because I think we aren't getting out of here?" I laughed again before sobering at the thought that had downed me in the first place, "Oh no. I was mouring the loss of my Laboutainé heels." I glanced sadly over to the black plastic again as they were teased out to v-sea by the tide. I shook my head sadly before looking back to the varying amused and annoyed faces of the brothers, "They cost me one whole week's wages, and I've had to snap them in two..." I stood up, feeling weird that I didn't have the extra height boost; now I was two inches shorter than Kaiba. I glared at the, now dead, TV, "Noah will _pay_." I paused, "Literally. I'll wring his scrawny little neck till I get all £750 out of him." I lost my humour towards the end as I thought about how much they cost me when I heard Kaiba snicker and Mokuba laugh slightly.

"You spent over..." There was a second's pause as Mokuba worked out the exchange rate in his head, "$1000 dollars on a pair of _shoes_?" The amused shock in his voice evident, I raised my eyebrows in surprise at how fast he worked it out.

"Whoa...I feel so dumb next to you two genii." I said, smiling as I remembered my affectionate resignation, "But yes. I did." I nodded and smirked at the look of utter shock on the kid's face as Kaiba sighed.

"It's nice to know that you stick to your gender sterotype Callaghan." The sarcasm practically _dripping_ from his words as I made a disgusted noise in the back of my throat.

"I'll have you know that some stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason." I looked down to where the heels had been on my shoes, "I _loved _those shoes..." I sighed, "I helped sell many a house in them..."

"_Another_ door?" Mokuba sounded completely bored with these kinds of developments. I brushed the backs of my trousers free of sand and stood next to him as Kaiba walked over to his brother's other side.

"My turn to go first, I suppose." I said dryly before leaning forwards and opening the door, stepping through it and into the impossibly glowing black transitional corridor behind it.

**~XxX**

**A/N: Oh GAAAWWD I'm tired right now. It's four in the morning but I'm awake. Why am I awake? XD**

**~Ava**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Oh god, I just got the new Artemis Fowl book and, true to form, I burned through it in a few hours. Unfortunately, due to introduction of a...**_**new**__**character**_**, I can now just **_**smell **_**the yaoi slash and the new Mary-Sues. Oh dear god no... XD**

**STILL, on with the fic, you never know, maybe I'll tackle my favorite fandom next.**

**Oh, yeah, no update the other day due to an Induction day at my new college and as such my updates will be slowing down considerably, maybe one a week? Two or three at a push depending on my workload.**

**Envelope One entails THIS little plot-line and another later on, my friends, you have just chosen the most Sue'd bit of this arc, thus making it my job to subvert the Sue-ness and makie it palatable XD You have also unknowingly chosen one set of the "Emotional Revalation" lines I came up with as opposed to the other. Congratulations, have some imaginary champagne. XD**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

"...What _is_ this place?" I asked, confused as we walked through a wasteland of dust and scrubland, the remnants of a Midgar-esque city in the distance. Kaiba glanced at me for a second before answering.

"This is a virtual version of where KaibaCorp maufactured its weaponry." The tone of disgust he took making it clear just how much he hated the history of his company, Mokuba snorted.

"Until Seto had it destroyed." A look of pride on Mokuba's face as we continued walking. I pouted, impressed.

"_Destroyed?" _I asked, thinking that it would explain the twisted remains we were now wandering through, having just cleared the scrubland. Kaiba nodded sharply as I 'hmmpfed' my approval.

"Razing this place, and Nesbitt's ideas, to the ground was the best thing I've ever done." He said as I wrestled with how to compliment his desicion without sounding fawning or patronising before I was stopped by Mokuba speaking.

"Hey, look! It's Tristan!" I snapped my head to Mokuba and then to the roof he was pointing to, I smiled broadly for the first time since falling down that virtual hole almost a day ago and waved.

"That must mean the others are around here somewhere." I said, knowing that where Tristan was, Serenity was, Joey was, Yugi was and Teá was, like some kind of chain-reaction. The smile slid from my lips like ice on plastic when Tristan leapt from the low rooftop of a tunnel, landing infront of us and laughing wildly before drawing what a ppeared to be a wooden kendo sword and leaping for Mokuba. Without a second thought I grabbed the kid's wrist and dragged him out of the way, behind me as Kaiba moved swiftly to take his brother's place and easily blocked the wooden practice sword with his forearm, wincing slightly at the strength of the contact. "WHAT THE _HELL_ IS WITH YOU TRISTAN?" I yelled at my friend, thinking that, though I barely knew him, he wouldn't attack Mokuba of his own volition.

"I'm sorry girl," The voice that spoke wasn't Tristan's and didn't seem in the slightest bit sorry, "but your friend is currently _unavailable_. His body is _mine_ now, and I intend on using it to _crush_ you Seto Kaiba!" Every over-enunciated word was puctuated with another attempted attack at Kaiba, who, after the protection of his brother was secured by me, no longer felt the need to take being hit again. I ignored the frankly amazing acrobatics for the moment, instead preferring to curse the Big Five for the possession they had aquired before I heard three voices.

"Sophie!" Female.

"Kaiba!" Male.

"Mokuba!" Male, overly Brooklyn.

The three voices yelled our names as I half-turned towards the person who had said _my_ name, forgetting the peril at hand in favour of grinning at Teá and dragging Mokuba into the safety of our friends before hugging her.

"Oh god Teá! I was so worried are you okay what the hell happened to Tristan how did you find us-"

"Sophie. Breathe." Teá placed both of her hands on my shoulders, ordering me to stop my incessant babbling, I paused and did as I was told before smiling at her. I didn't get an answer however as that was the point when the, already surreal fight between Kaiba and a Big Five possessed Tristan, got even more surreal.

"I-is that a _robot monkey?_" Duke asked from Serenity's side, questioning the appearance of a brown robot monkey that had just latched itself onto Tristan's head, he growled and tore the AI off his person as he aimed another hit at Kaiba, missing and running past him instead mounting one of the many motorbikes in the scrapyard around us and snatching Mokuba, who had stepped out of my grasp to help his brother on instinct. I grabbed for him but failed, my friends ran to follow him into the tunnel, I instead looked back to where Kaiba was, noting what he was doing and ran to him instead.

"No, Callaghan." Was his curt reply as he mounted the seemingly most powerful motorbike in the row that was present, I ignored him, choosing to mount the bike pillion and grabbing onto his waist, blushing deeply and thanking whatever God there may or may not be that he couldn't see me.

"Shut up," I said, the situation driving me to use the word I hated to him, "you're my friends and I like you, no matter how long it takes for you to admit it and however miserable it makes the both of us."

"I don't have the time to argue with you Callaghan." Was his reply as he revved the motorbike and sped past our friends.

**~XxX~**

I felt my hands break their hold at the same time as another pair of hands pushed me back, the next thing I knew I was sprawled on the road of an unfinished bridge while Kaiba landed gracefully on his feet after trashing the bike. I picked myself off the ground with a wince as I saw that part of the tarmac had made it's home in my right shoulder thanks to my unplanned dismount, I thanked the same non-entity I had eariler that my lack of a crash helmet hadn't killed me.

"Callaghan." I took it as a question and answered while looking at a suspisciously black-coated man in the midst of the dying fiery carcass of the motorbike.

"Bruised, bleeding but perfectly fine. You?" I recived a 'hmpf' for my answer, both of our attentions now fixed wholly on the man, who had started laughing maniaclly.

"Where is my brother?" Kaiba commanded the man to tell him as I inwardly snickered at the sudden change from, 'ice-cold jerk,' to, 'pissed-off older brother.'

"You'll never see your brutha agian, Mistah Kaibah." I frowned before holding back a laugh at the over-the-top New Orleans accent the man had, I suppressed my laughter sucessfully and reminded myself of the crisis at hand.

"Tell us where he is you bastard." I hissed as I thought of Mokuba in the clutches of a demented maniac like Noah. The man turned to face me, his face still hidden along with the rest of his body.

"I don't know who you ah girl, but you ah _sorely_ mistaken if yah think I'm gonna tell you that." I balled my hands into fists, tired of hearing the first half of that sentence and disliking the last half immensely.

"Tell. Us." I hissed again, knowing that I was fighting a losing battle as he laughed again.

"No, and girly? What the hell do ya think _you_ could do to _me?_" Another laugh as I took a step forward from the side of the bridge to next to Kaiba, who was sneering at the man.

"I can't do _anything_ to you. But I swear to _god_ that won't stop me trying." Another laugh after my partial threat. Kaiba spoke, not looking away from the man.

"Quiet Callaghan, this is a family matter." I exhaled heavily through my nose, not happy but respectful of his wishes, shutting up and glaring at the man, who turned his attention back to Kaiba.

"Well Mistah Kaibah, I want that bodeh of yours for mah own-" I made a disgusted noise in the back of my throat, once for the perverted manner that could be taken in and once of the overly-done accent, "-so I believe it's time to duel!" Kaiba growled, angry at the lack of information pertaining to Mokuba but shuffling his deck anyway as a duel disk appeared on his arm.

"Move, Callaghan." Being short with his words as the hooded man drew his first card, I copied his growl of annoyance and stalked over to the side, poking my arm and the shallow, gritty wound that was on my shoulder. I licked my hand and cleaned away some of the grit and drying blood, ripping the already shredded blue sleeve off the rest of the blouse to bandage it tightly, tying the knot with my teeth as I watched to two duel, not paying much attention. _I_ was far more interested in the hovering _thing_ a few meters up, a lense glinting in the v-sun.

"Noah." I whispered, just _knowing_ that the little green-haired brat was watching this duel for his entertainment.

**~XxX~**

"-You even used those closest to you Mistah Kaibah." The man-now known to be Lector, Gozaburo's right-hand-man and in the form of his Deck Master, Jinzo said, taking Kaiba aback. I frowned at his words but continued to eye Lector's 'Imperial Order' card, that was preventing Kaiba from using magic cards in exchange for some of Lector's life points, this coupled with Jinzo's effect of negating trap cards was putting my arrogant friend on the back foot.

"What?" The incredulity in Kaiba's voice was clear, I too doubted Lector's little barb, having seen the two brothers care firsthand I sincerely thought that Lector was...talking utter crap.

"You tricked Mokuba into thinking that _he'd _leaked the information about your planned takeover of KaibaCorp, when infact, _it was you_." The nightmarish-looking man said, smugness in his voice as he leaned forward, red goggles glinting menacingly.

"I-I wouldn't betray my brother!" He faltered slightly but the tone he was speaking in confirmed his words.

"In doing so you forced your brother to run to Gozaburo for _comfort_. All the while using him as a pawn to trick Gozaburo into thinking that he had all the knowledge he needed to keep his comapany as he expected Mokuba to side with _him_." Lector's Deck Master shook his headmokingly, "But Mokuba was too trusting of you and gave you enough power to overthrow your step-father. At which point you betrayed us all!" He balled his fists in fury, "Even me! Who helped raise you! You stripped our power away and left us a figureheads before disposing of us entirely!" Both Kaiba and I snorted at the same time at his words.

"You didn't _help_ raise _either_ of us Lector! And I would _never_ betray my brother." Kaiba placed a heartfelt emphasis on the 'never' as I decided to taunt Lector alittle in the hopes of throwing him off a tad for Kaiba to take advantage of.

"Still Kaiba," I said, sounding amiable, "I don't know why you fired these lot, " Kaiba shot me a look of half dis-belief and half, 'where-the-hell-are-you-going-with-this,' "They seem like _such_ stable-minded people." Lector/Jinzo fixed me with a chilling glare that I hid my fear of.

"Shut the hell up girl." He hissed, sounding homicidal as I subconcsiously made a connection between his current look, his last name and a certain serial-killer, I bit back my next retort, watching as they resumed their duel. My ears pricked up at the sound of a roaring engine, I turned my head sharply to the other side of the gap in the bridge, seeing a three-wheeled pick-up truck brake sharply, Joey, Duke, Serenity, Yugi and Teá jumping out of the back of the truck as Joey got out of the cab. I squinted slightly, unsure as to whether I was seeing Serenity holding that robot monkey from earlier or not.

"SHUT IT MONKEY BOY!"

Apparently so, Joey's yell cleared my doubts, which were swiftly replaced with shock as Lector summoned a satallite to the field. But not technically to the field, more accturately, to _space_.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: Huh, longer than normal chapter...**

**ANYWAY, updates will be slowing down to once/twice a week as college is starting again and A-Level History, Psychology, Govement&Politics and Business Studies will be eating into my time X_X. But still, I chose the subjects, if I can't take it, I only have myself to blame XD**

**Oh, and in case you didn't get the reference; Lector + Jinzo = Hannibal Lector. The only thing 4Kids did right with the naes.**

**~Ava**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: I LOVE Darren Shan's adult books. Seriously. I mean, I read the Saga Of Darren Shan aaaages ago and loved them, I read the Demonata and loved it, but this City series? Woahzahs. He has so much more room to move without the confines of 'childrens' books XD. And Jeery's snarky insult to the Klu Kluxer, as a black guy, was AWESOME.**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

"FUCK YES!" I punched the air after my triumphant yell, losing my composure at the sight of Kaiba's Blue Eye's White Dragon destroying the satallite that had been the main threat to him for the past fifteen minutes or so.

"And my Blue Eye's powerful destruction of your card brings your life points," He paused, a smug smile on his face, "to _zero_." I snickered as I heard Joey's voice float over the gap between the bridge sides.

"Woah...he actually _did_ it." Serenity nodded furiously at her brother's words.

"And now we can get Mokuba and Tristan's body back." She said, her voice firm. I admired that girl in a strange way, she was oddly uncorrupted by the cynisism of those around her and seemed to be a perpetual optimist. Kaiba walked up to the kneeling and defeated Jinzo/Lector.

"Mokuba. Where is he?" His voice left little room for emotion as Jinzo/Lector started to laugh again.

"You'll never see your brother again, but I assure you, you'll be seeing me sooner than you think. I'll be back. And I'll claim your body for my own." His laughing was still ringing out along the bridge as he dissolved into binary and left no trace that he'd even been there. I turned towards the pick-up truck at the sound of crackling, the gap in the bridge fizzling into solidity. My friends raced over the new section towards us as a tunnel waved into life infront of Kaiba and myself. Without a second thought he raced towards it, Yugi yelling at him.

"Kaiba! We're coming with you!" Joey snorted and muttered something under his breath at his best fried's words, Kaiba half-turned and glared at Yugi.

"Don't you dare Moto. This is a _family _matter. Which I have to solve _on my own_." He shot me a look with his last three words, as if he could read my mind, before turning on his heel and running into the tunnel. Barely a second passed before I made a move to go after him, feeling Teá's hand on my shoulder as the others argued their opinions.

"...You're going anyway aren't you?" Teá asked, smirking slightly as I nodded, "I don't know _what_ you see there Sophie, I mean, he's an _ass."_ I wasted no time with my answer, keen to run.

"I know he's an ass, and I don't know why I like him. It's more..." I paused for a second, frowning slightly, "it's more, I'm determined to gain his trust. I know when it was that I fell in determination with him though." I said, turning my body back to the tunnel, ready to run.

"When was it then?" She asked, that same look in her eyes from the blimp, like she already knew.

"When he told me he wasn't my friend." I answered honestly, taking note of her slight smirk.

"That doesn't make any sense Soph." She said, smile twinging her lips.

"I know." I said, mirroring her expression, "But we never had any to begin with." I finished, running into the tunnel a full twenty seconds after him and thanking myself for ripping the heels off my shoes.

**~XxX~**

I caught up with Kaiba at what appeared to be a cliché fork in the road, he turned his head at the sound of footsteps, probably thinking of one of the Big Five, but frowned heavily and turned his head away at the sight of me.

"I said this was a _family _matter Callaghan." He said, his tone demanded an answer.

"I don't care for your words Kaiba." I snapped back before glaring at the fork ahead of us.

"I do _not_ want to have to deal with you right now Callaghan." He hissed back glaring at me from the corner of his eyes as I folded my arms petulantly.

"Well that's too damn bad." I said back, refusing to leave.

"I will not tolerate your INSOLENT attitude right now Callaghan, I don't have the LUXURY to indulge you." His words were harsher than I'd expected which instantly got my hackles up, "Especially after your idiocy."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean Kaiba?" I asked, frowning at his words, he glared sidways at me.

"You fumbled keeping my brother in your safety." He said, no hate behind his voice, just a cold finality. I flashed back to what I had said jokingly earlier, about being wounded by his words, this time thinking it not funny.

"Do-" I stumbled over my words as I felt the subtle force behind what he had said, "Don't say that." Shaking my head as I grabbed his upper arm, forcing him to look at me, "I-if something like this happened to either of you, _any_ of you, because of me," my voice shuddered a little, "I couldn't take that." There was a second of silence, in which I refused to let go of his arm.

"SETO, HELP!"

Both of our heads snapped away from the other, instead staring down the righ-hand tunnel. Kaiba broke my grip instantly, running into the dark; though it didn't matter, I was several steps behind him.

"Mokuba?" I caught up with him in time to see the younger Kaiba standing directly infront of us, I smiled a tad at Kaiba's word of recognition as I leant against the wall and breathed heavily.

"Mokubaaa-" I choked on my words as I saw what was happening infront of us, "-aackk, Noah." I finished as Mokuba's head was replaced by Noah's, I glanced across to Kaiba, who was tight-lipped and glaring at Noah in a manner that made me feel that if looks were bullets, Noah would be dead. At least, until a white light blinded me for the second time that day.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: Apologies for the short chapter, but College is overwhelming me again, I will continue to faithfully update this, but it's taking a back seat. Especially since I'm changing my History A-Level to either Psychology or Goverment&Politics...**

**~Ava**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: You see, there was this bet wth my best friend yadda-yadda...anyway, the point is, I'm going to the 30th October MCM Expo as a Fem!Kaiba...in Battle City attire...so...y'know, if any of you lot are there, just yell, "AVA" at the Kaibas, you'll find me eventually XD**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

"Noah!" The hate in Kaiba's stance seemed to condense into something hard, cold and sleek in his voice as he balled his hands into fists by his sides. I, on the other hand, was next to Kaiba; trying to strike a balance between my cowardice screaming at me to run for the, (virtual), hills, or to leap at Noah like somekind of enraged harpy. I settled for glaring at Noah and scanning the blackness around us for signs of Mokuba.

"Aha, Seto!" The green-haired brat clapped his hands together in a sort of evil glee, "How nice of you to join me here! And your little friend." His eyes snapped to me as I waited fo the insta-denial from Kaiba...it didn't come. Noah's eyes snapped back to Kaiba as a muscle started to tic in my friend's cheek.

"Where's my brother Noah?" At the mention of the word 'brother' Noah's eyes narrowed momentarily before he smirked again.

"Oh you'll see that I've been keeping him _very_ safe." His voice was laced with the same fake sincerity I had heard, what seemed like years ago, from GLaDOS in one of my games. At the end of his sentence there was movement from behind him. Mokubas face looked over Noah's shoulder and I felt Kaiba relax slightly next to me as he held out his hand to his brother.

"Come on Mokuba, we're leaving this dump behind us." He said, voice betraying a tad of relief at the sight of Mokuba unharmed. But that wouldn't rid us both of our suspicions...

"No! I won't let you get me!" The words that Mouba half-yelled made the two of us freeze, Kaiba recovering first and striding forwards, grabbing his brother's hand and dragging him away from Noah.

"_Please_ Mokuba, I don't, _we_ don't, have time for this." I heard no businessman in Kaiba's tone, just the words of a tired older brother. I would have continued in my inner psychological breakdown of him had Mokuba not yanked his hand back and run to Noah, hiding behind him again. Kaiba turned back to face Noah, opening his mouth to say something before I beat him to the punch.

"What did you do to him, you snot-haired little brat?" I hissed, knowing from my limited interaction with the younger Kaiba that his older brother was the single most important thing in the world to him. Noah glanced at me, as though angry that I was distracting his attentions from Kaiba.

"Oh, I just made him realise the truth, girl." He snickered and turned to face Kaiba again, "I just made him realise that his dearest brother was only using him, like a pawn in a game..." Another snicker as he faced Mokuba, hiding behind him, and grasped his shoulders, "I made him realise that you were nothing to him and that _I'm_ the only person he can trust now." A sofa appeared from nowhere and he sat on it, Mokuba sitting next to him and smiling as Noah placed an arm around him. I almost _heard_ Kaiba's patience snap but he stayed where he was, Noah holding the ace; Mokuba.

"What's that meant to mean Noah?" Kaiba's voice once again making me shiver with apprehension, Noah turned away from Kaiba and I, instead chosing to look at a muted TV screen that had appeared from nowhere once more.

"I'm taking everything that you don't deserve _back _Seto. Your company..._MY _company, your friends, your brother and look where it's left you now...all alone, with nothing to help you get it all back." I frowned at Noah's last words, stepping so that I was once more, level with Kaiba.

"And what the hell does that make _me?_ Kermit the freaking frog?" I asked, mildly annoyed that I wasn't acknowlegded as still being there. Noah didn't even look round at me as he answered.

"I don't know who you are girl, though judging from your interaction with both Seto and Yugi you most likely you don't matter in the long run and can't duel." His curt, yet logical, answer made me angry all over again. I was getting _really _tired at hearing those words. I took a step forwards and stood infront of Kaiba, who glared at me for a second as I ignored him.

"My name is Sophie. Sophie Grace McCallaghan, if I'm going to be trapped in your goddamned freakshow, I want you lot to be able to remember my damn NAME." I yelled the last word, prompting Noah to look away from the screen for a moment, and regard me as though I were some kind of fish in a bowl, "_And_, I matter. _They _matter. Because right now, in this moment? These two are all I've got, so if you so much as look at them cross-eyed I will make you see _why_ I matter." I took a breath, my courage abruptly fading, "...and the cardgame's a load of kid's crap anyway." I almost _felt_ Kaiba rolling his eyes at my words, as I'm sure he would have had our situation not been so dire. He did, however, place a hand on my shoulder and move me to the side, I shivered again, and not from anything other that my accursed hormones. I hid my blush once again with a sneer at Noah. I would have continued sneering ineffectually at the boy had I not noticed a door, like the ones we had encountered before, appearing out of thin air next to me. I skittered away from it until I saw who ran through it.

"Yugi?"

"TEÁ!"

The clash of reasonable confusion and utter relief with mine and Kaiba's voices was almost comical, however, rather than laughing I instead hugged my best-friend for what seemed like the fortieth time that day and frowned at Yugi, or more accurately, what he was handing to Kaiba.

"A picture?" I whispered to Teá, my eyes still fixed on Noah in case he tried anything vaugely hostile. She nodded, looking at the picture from upside-down, I shifted my position to see it the right way up. The person I had come to know as the brother's "Step-Father" and Noah. I frowned at the photo and then glanced over to said greenie.

"...Why are you with him?" I paused at Noah's slightly insane smirk.

"I'm the _true_ heir to the Kaiba Corporation, the biological son of Gozaburo Kaiba." He glared at Kaiba, "You're just an orphan who happened to hit the big-time." There was a thinly veiled bitterness to his words before he smirked again and faded like the Cheshire cat, grin leaving last. The four of us were stood back in blackness again before Kaiba spoke as I looked to him for an explaination.

"This is quite obviously another one of his tricks to throw me off rescuing Mokuba." I cut across his skeptism without thinking.

"_Us_. And you aren't going to even entertain for a second that he's telling the truth?" He shook his head as I ignored Teá's smirk for the second time and kept my eyes locked on Kaiba.

"_Me._ And of course not," he sniffed at his next sentence, "I'm not an indulger in flights-of-fancy." I scoffed and looked to Yugi and Teá for support, instead I was greeted by the two of them opening yet _another_ door and beckoning us over. I ran towards them, closing the gap and shaking my head.

"_US._ And you lot are making me fit." I sighed faux angrily, "You won't like me when I'm fit..." I heard the annoyed sigh from behind me and knew that I was going to be keeping up this bickering all the way to finding Mokuba.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: Oh you people, with your...reading...I don't know where I'm going with this.**

**~Ava**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: ...College starts on the 13th...I am going to be writing furiously and then updating weekly. Ie, I'm writing all these chapters in the past. **

**LOOK OUT FOR THE WALRUS! (I love/hate you ISA XD)**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

"Oh hey! Look, there're the guys!" Yugi was right as the four of us clambered up a steep hill in the desert that we had found the door led to. Three of us started to run at the sight of the rest of our friends, Kaiba choosing to deliberately continue at a steady, slow, pace towards the upturned pick-up truck. Yugi reached the truck first, throwing himself at Joey and hugging him while laughing Teá and I soon after, helping Serenity out of the cab.

"Never a dull moment huh?" Teá asked jokingly as Serenity flung both her legs over the side of the cab and we each took her hands, helping her jump and steady herself.

"No! There really isn't!" She laughed, the sound infectious and I found myself smiling before I looked at what was also clambering out of the cab.

"Wh-Is that that robot monkey?" I asked, smile faltering slightly as it looked at me and then spoke.

"HEY! I'm no monkey Soph! I'm just...stuck here." I gawped at the brown monkey, it had Tristan's voice. His _voice._

_"_You're kidding me right?" I asked, watching as the monkey jumped into Serenity's arms and she hugged it close. "_That thing_ is Tristan?" Serenity nodded furiously. I shook my head in disbelief and massaged the bridge of my nose before running after my friends once more, noticing that they had started walking in a random direction. Towards what seemed to be a very large building in the distance. I walked alongside each of my friends in turn, listening to their amiable chatter and smiling inwardly at the fact that I had gained such friends who accepted me in the way that they didn't try to push me away while they were talking. Well, all except one. I sped up a little, to walk beside Kaiba and ignored him ignoring me.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..._Us_..."

"Be quiet Callaghan, he is _my_ brother and _I_ will get him back. I've gotten him back before and I _will_ get him back again. Regardless of your little friendship delusion."

"No. Not on your own and _certainly_ not against the freak with the Daddy/Company complex."

"_No_ Callaghan."

"_Yes_ Kaiba. He's my friend too you know, and I've already told you, you get no choice in the matter of our friendship."

"Shouldn't you be more worried by _that?_" Kaiba concluded our brief banter by looking up at one of the massive cliffs that bordered the valley we were walking through, Tristan_, _or at least his _body_, grinned manically down at us before he leapt of the cliff, landing neatly on the ground in a manner that probably would have broken a normal person. I looked round to Kaiba, only to see him continuing walking down the valley again, I looked back to my friends, torn. I didn't want to leave them again, especially not for a person who had shown me barely anything other than distain, but I was hooked onto trying to gain his trust. Teá glanced across at me momentarily, not smirking this time due to worry as to who the person in Tristan's body was, and hissed at me.

"Oh just go, if he goes on his own he's bound to do _something _stupid." She snickered a tad towards the end of her sentence as I silently mouthed a 'thank you' to her. I bolted.

**~XxX~**

"...If you weren't legally a minor, this would be about the time I took out a restraining order on you Callaghan." I laughed a little at my 'greeting' from Kaiba as I caught up with him until I was once again, walking next to him.

"You're _such _a lovely person, I hope you know that." I said back, just as quickly before stopping when he did, at the edge of another cliff, overlooking _another _stretch of dusty wasteland. He balled his hands into fists and I could tell what he was thinking. I dropped my sarcasm in favour of my, (rather rusty), empathy and placed a hand on his forearm. "_We_ will get him back." Kaiba opened his mouth to say something back but I tightened my grip on his wrist, "I. Don't. Care. What. You. Have. To. Say."

"Let go of me Callaghan." He said, as I tried to place what his tone meant. I shook my head.

"No. You can refuse the help of my friends, but you are _not_ refusing mine." I narrowed my eyes, empathy getting worn down slightly by my attitude towards his stubborness. His right eyebrow attempted to abandon his face.

"And what makes you say _that_ Callaghan?" He asked, sounding partially annoyed and amused at the same time. I felt myself want to hit him, instead I tightened my grip further and took a step forwards.

"Because, I like the both of you. And..." I paused, losing my mettle before steeling myself, "and I want for the two for you-well, he already kind of _does-_I want _you_ to trust me." Kaiba frowned at me, seemingly suspicious. I shook my head, letting go of his wrist and clearing my throat uneasily. "I'm sorry if you think I'm after something, but I'm _not_ sorry if you are still going to shut me out. I know you aren't the most personable person and I don't expect you to instantly open up. But I feel that you might as well know _why_ I've been refusing to leave the two of you alone." There was an apprehensive silence that followed, during which I endevoured to _not_ blush and _not_ break eye-contact. After several seconds Kaiba turned and began walking again, down a side-slope towards the building in the , not-so-far-distance now.

"Giving up already Callaghan?" I heard him ask as he walked past me, I frowned then my eyes bugged when I realised what it was he was saying. I caught up with him instantly.

"...So, are you admitting I'm a friend now?" I asked, smiling slightly as I gauged his reaction: a slight smirk.

"...I prefer to think of it more as an...alliance Callaghan." Was his answer as we passed the third large boulder in as many minutes, I nodded a tad before smirking at a thouht that I _had_ to voice aloud.

"...Us..."

"I'm regretting this already..."

**~XxX~**

**A/N: WHY DO I COME UP WITH ALL THE GOOD CHAPTERS AT ONE IN THE MORNING? WHUT? X_X**

**You know, the other day, I read through all of these chapters. I realised that it reads like I actually **_**planned **_**this shiz. You lot do know that I have NO idea what I'm going to write for each chapter right? I don't even know how this thing is going to end...**

**~Ava**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: Aaaaannnd I'm still writing. I'll probably keep writing until my Mother wanders along and knocks on my bedroom door...I wonder if this thing can count toward my English A-Level? Probably not...I'm just rambling now...**

**I would just like a moment to wish Brody, (the whole reason I'm writing this fic now), to get well soon. My dear friend was hit by a drunk driver and has broken more bones than I can even list here. Fortunately, it could have been worse, she could have died, but in fact, being the resilliant little bitch she is, she is going to make a full recovery. WOO BRODEH!**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

"Oh dear god, stairs..." I sighed as we reached what seemed to be an outdoor staircase made of stone which was over four hundred stairs tall. The building in the distance had turned out to be the Kaiba mansion. We had been treated to a home video of a very young Noah being watched over by his Father. Walking through another door had led us to the base of another mesa, however, I was not aware of any _natural_ structures stairs at the bottom of it. Another one of Noah's little..._things_.

"I _will_ get him back from you Noah," Kaiba said lowly while glaring at the stairs, "regardless of what you place in my way." I nodded and started to climb the stairs a little after him.

"Damn right we will." I had since taken it that he didn't want to _admit_ to my help, so did it for him at every opportunity. Glancing over the precipice I realised that the plateau was overlooking a fog-shrouded city-ike area, I looked to Kaiba to ask him a question, but paused when I saw the look on his face.

"But I've..." His voice trailed off as he completed the sentence in his head. I frowned slightly.

"Do you recognise this place?" I asked him, reciving another question for my answer.

"Just who is this kid?" Kaiba half-yelled in shock. I looked back out over the edge of the cliff again, down at the sprawling mega-structure, complete with parks, and then back to where Kaiba was. Or _had been, _now however, there was barely anything to say that I hadn't just been talking to myself. I whirled on my heel, seeing him disappearing round the bottom of a slope that was on the opposite side to the stairs we had just clambered up and made a disgusted noise in the back of my throat.

"..._NOT_ making this easy for me..." I chunnered before running down the slope after him.

**~XxX~**

"He's managed to copy my ideas down to the security I set up." Kaiba sounded half annoyed and half intruiged, I, on the other hand, had just seen what the 'security' had just been.

"Pfft, your '_security_' comprised of a chessboard." I glared down both sides of the deserted tube station, seeing nothing but black on either sides of the tunnel, I rubbed the 'bandage' I had put over my gritty graze earlier. I heard Kaiba sigh exasperatedly at my words as he looked up at the speaker that was mounted above us. Noah was obviously watching us, it would only be a matter of time before he did something.

"I don't expect you to appreciate the complexities of chess Callaghan." He glanced at me for a second, "Only _I_ know that move. It's the move I used on Gozaburo." I scoffed at him.

"Do not appreciate the-_Do not appreciate-_" I repeated the accusation twice, each time with more incredulity, "Ohohoho..." I looked over and locked eyes with him, "Pawn to A4." I said, narrowing my eyes. Kaiba raised an eyebrow.

"Are you serious Callaghan?" His stance showing that he _wasn't_ taking me seriously, I turned to him, mirroring his folded arms.

"Are you suggesting that you can't take a little game of mind chess? Against yours truly?" I smirked as I pointed to myself. Another sigh from him.

"...If you're going to be petulant about it..." A pause, "Pawn to E4."

"Veeery nice you two," the sound of Noah's voice was tinny over the speaker, both ouf us cut short and glared at it, "but now, if you'd be so kind as to board the Blue Eyes White Train: it'll lead you to the next round of our little game..." I frowned as I heard the words that Noah spoke , frowning even further at the familiar rumbling of a tube-train and then finally giggling hyserically at the sight of the train.

"...It's shaped like...like that dragon you like..." I glanced at him for a second, "You _really_ like that dragon..."

"At least he got _this _bit right." Kaiba hmmpfed as we boarded. Another man, probably a voice actor of some sort, warned us that straying into the gap would be unwise. I sighed disgustedly as I sat opposite him and took in the interior.

"Y'know, London knows how to do these kinds of things. It's 'Mind The Gap' not, 'Please Do Not Fall In Otherwise That Would Be Bad.'" I flumped backwards into my seat and noted it's comfort before glancing over to Kaiba, who was looking out of the window of the train, obviously thinking of his brother. I winced slightly at the memory of how he was kidnapped before I scolded myself for wanting to change the past. The present and the future are all that matter. "How long do you think this will take?" I asked, quieter than normal.

"About ten more minutes Callaghan. Judging by the fact that he's probably at the central complex." He answered me without even looking away from the outside world, I sighed again.

"Pawn to H4." I said, closing my eyes and massaging the bridge of my nose with my fingers, trying to stave off the oncoming headache, I heard a slight snort from opposite me as he answered.

"Pawn to D4." I opened one eye and glared at him, still not looking at me.

"Copying my moves isn't a very mature way to go."

"It's not called copying Callaghan, it's called tactics and it's why I'm going to win."

"I hate you...again."

"Well ladies and gentlemen, we seem to have arrived at our destination." The voice was not that of the voice actor's, instead it was Noah's. I could practically _hear _Kaiba's anger rolling off him. "I warn you though, boiling lava can reach a temperature of over 4000 degrees Celsius, so I would advise you _not_ to slip while exiting the train." I stopped walking towards the exit at those words before I noticed that Kaiba had already left. I steeled myself and left the relative 'safety' of the train for a rock.

I was standing, on a rock.

I was standing behind Kaiba, on a rock.

A rock that was in the middle of a sea of lava.

I gawped at our new surroundings before glancing over to Noah, who was on the otherside of the lava sea, on another rock.

"Give me back my brother Noah." Kaiba's tone left no room for argument, yet Noah did so anyway.

"Oh, but _I _am your brother too Seto!" Noah shook his head faux sadly, "But that isn't what you mean is it? Oh well. I suppose I'll just have to beat you now so that I can get back to _my_ brother." He snickered as I realised what he was saying. I took a step forwards, making sure not to over-balance on the rock.

"Are you _insane?_" I shook my head, "No. Wait. Wrong question, you _are_ insane, what I'm asking is, have you _spread_ your insane?" Noah's eyes narrowed at me as I spat my fringe out of my mouth before continuing, "Where is he? Because settling this with a children's cardgame is the absolute _height_ of immaturity." I glared at Noah for several more seconds before he started to laugh at me, throwing his head back and continuing to laugh. I sighed again, stepping back to where I was beforehand, just to the side of Kaiba who didn't take his eyes off of Noah all the while he was shuffling his deck. I looked around, realising that, as I was on the same, rather cramped, rock as Kaiba in the middle of a sea of lava, I wasn't going to be able to step back and give them any space. Instead I did something I would come to regret; I stood closer to Kaiba. He glanced over his shoulder at me for a second before making an annoyed noise and turning back to Noah.

"Fine. I'll crush you before getting my brother back and leaving this place." The finality of his words were dampened by Noah, still laughing, and placing a card facedown.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: Urgh I hate this chapter X_X The next ones better, I promise.**

**Also, Random Person? Thank you for theshameless ego boost, it was especially nice since I was feeling rather down that day, but I have to be suspicious. Are you one of my friends? Because I am completely unused to that level of...support XD**

**~Ava**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: Fourth draft of this chapter, I have to get this one in paticular right as there is so much potential for Sue-ness. I hope I haven't fallen into the trap, but if I have I BLAME YOU LOT FOR CHOOSING THE ENVELOPE! XD**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

It had been close to an hour-

_Lava_-

And I had realised that Noah was beyond insane-

_Water-_

He was, in fact-

_Dinosaurs_-

Fancying himself to be-

_Ice-_

Some sort of God.

And now? Now he was even worse.

_City._

**~XxX~**

"Mokuba!" Kaiba yelled at the sight of his brother dropping about a foot out of the air to stand infront of Noah. Mokuba looked up and stared at us, his eyes pupiless, and spread his arms wide..._protecting _Noah.

"No! If you want to harm my brother then you'll have to go through me first!" His voice sounded as bright as usual, but his face was emotionless and judging from the way that Noah was laughing manically behind him, that was of his doing. Kaiba gasped a little, Mokuba's words probably _literally_ knocking the wind out of him.

"Yes Mokuba, that's right," Noah said, still laughing, "_protect_ your brother, protect _me_. This stranger is trying to break us apart." At the ending of his sentence, Noah put on an innocent voice, goading both Kaiba and Mokuba to do what he wanted them to. Namely, break composure and still stand infront of the blow that could defeat him, respectively. I was ignoring my friends for the first time. Since the Ice Age that Noah had inflicted upon us had finished, I still hadn't moved from the rock that both Kaiba and I were on, instead I busied myself with either insulting Noah every now and then, or providing quiet moral support, which I knew, if I voiced it aloud, Kaiba would hate. I was sure that no-one save for Teá actually understood _why_ I was still on the rock, and was thankful for that. I would talk with her later, after I stopped my patience from snapping alongside Kaiba's.

"Mokuba! You have to remember! I'm your brother!" Kaiba's words struck me. Noah had basically _stolen_ Mokuba from him. Erased him from his mind. I could think back over everytime I'd ever come into contact with Kaiba and knew for fact that I wouldn't be so determined to gain his trust had he not had a brother. He would be so undiscernable without Mokuba. And after seeing those memories...

"You _bastard._" I hissed, coming to my conclusion. I hadn't spoken since the Ice Age left but what I was witnessing was...twisted. Kaiba beat me to the punch before I continued.

"You little bastard. You've taken my only family from me. You will _pay_." Kaiba looked to his Dimension Dragon, about to set it on Noah to end the duel. But he hesitated, and I knew why. Noah decided to voice it.

"You _can't_ attack me, no matter how much you want to. Or, actually, you_ can_ attack me, but you won't. How could you? When Mokuba is so willing to die instead? You choose Seto. Your brother, or your company." Kaiba growled and paused, thinking over his options. It was then that my patience parted and I started to shriek in a highly undignified manner, moving forwards against my cowardice and balling my hands into fists once more.

"You absolute _bastard._" I repeated, Noah loking at me amusedly, "you _jerk_, you _cad_, you infernal little _weasel. _I feel debased for just knowing that someone like you _exists_." I was venomous now, letting all the bitch I had been back in London out once again, "Would a hawk pick you up, drive its beak into your brain, and upon finding it so _twisted_ set you loose to fly for a short while before bespattering the ocean rocks with the frothy pink shame of your ignoble blood." I took a deep breath, thinking over every insult I had ever used to my peers and those above me, it was like I was two different people now. The one I had been cultivating over the past few months and the one I had been. I screwed my face up in feigned confusion, "What fantasy do you hold that you would believe that your tiny-fisted tantrums would have more weight than that of a frothing-at-the-mouth desert rat, spinning rabidly in a circle, waiting for the bite of the snake? Hmm?" I felt nauseous now, disliking the venom I was speaking with, the words sounding foreign to me, eventhough I had repeated them before at earlier points in my life, "You, Noah Kaiba, are unreservedly pathetic, starved for attention, and lost in a land that reality forgot, so you took something dear from someone who was _not_. I wish you nothing but the worst." I spat my last words, feeling a small sense of accomplishment at the fact that he was no longer laughing or smirking, but I knew that Noah wouldn't take my hate lightly.

"That's enough Callaghan." For the first time, Kaiba's tone was softer than normal, as though he was shushing me rather than telling me to shut up. He looked up and fixed glares with Noah. "I switch my Dimension Dragon into defence mode, and end my turn." I exhaled heavily through my nose, still feeling nauseous but nodding to him and once again moving back from my position infront of him. It hadn't escaped my notice that everytime I said something I felt the need to step infront of him.

"Ha! That's the move of a defeated man." Noah shifted his eyes from me back to Kaiba as Mokuba did the same as me, moving to the side of Noah, "attack!" The monster that Noah had ordered to attack Kaiba hit both of us instead. I guessed it was intentional, a _get-back_ for what I had said, this _get-back_ knocked both Kaiba and I from our feet, me collapsing to my knees to move my centre of gravity and make me more stable and he, off the rock completely. The second the harsh tornado was over I glanced over my shoulder, hearing my friends shout from a slightly raised area to our left. I scrambled to my feet, feeling my feminist side curse my teenage girl side for being so emotional towards him as I ran to see if he was okay. I needn't of bothered, he raised himelf to one knee, lacking the physical strength to get up fully as I dropped back to my knees, fussing incessantly over the cut to his right hand and left cheek. I was soon set straight by the the look he gave me, it clearly said, 'Honestly? You're worried about _this_?' I rolled my eyes but stopped what I was doing, instead half turning to look at Noah and grit my teeth. Yugi was the one to throw a lifeline.

"Kaiba! Listen to me!" Yugi yelled from where he was, I looked over to my friends and felt myself colour slightly at the look Teá gave me as I realised what I girlish fool I was _obviously_ looking like at the moment. I inwardly slammed m palm against my face, even _Joey_ would notice now.

"I don't need _your_ help Moto!" Kaiba yelled back, I winced at the closeness of such a loud sound and shoved Kaiba in the arm, he glared at me momentarily.

"Leave it. He could know something." I hissed as Kaiba looked at me like I'd just suggested that he should get a puppy instead of Mokuba.

"Remember when this happened to Joey?" Yugi yelled back, oblivious to what I had just said, "When he couldn't remember me?" I almost _saw_ the rememberance behind Kaiba's eyes as he heard that. " got through to him! Just like you can get through to Mokuba! I believe in you Kaiba! And I believe the answer may be in your deck!" Yugi had a point, I _did_ remember something like this happening with Joey only a few days earlier. Kaiba obviously did too, as he braced himself to say something, wincing as he attempted to stand after just being slammed against the ground, I placed a firm hand on his shoulder and glared at him, daring him to contradict me. For once, he didn't. Today seemed to be full of firsts.

"_Yes, well I don't need your belief Moto..._Mokuba!" He muttereed the fist half, so low that I barely heard it before yelling at his brother, who regarded him cooly, "I may not have always treated you the best sometimes! But there's one thing I never told you!" Kaiba took a breath and closed his eyes while yelling his next words, "But you saved me!" I heard the five-strong gasp from my friends up on the ledge as I frowned slightly. "Back when we lived with Gozaburo, I was ready to give up. But you saved me Mokuba! You gave me something to hope for and you made me realise that as a team, there was _nothing_ we couldn't do together!" Kaiba winced again, possibly from pain or possibly from embarassment as to the amount of emotion in his voice as he spoke when Yugi yelled too.

"He's right Mokuba! _Seto's _your brother! Not _Noah!_" Yugi was teetering dangourously on the edge of the ledge, while it wasn't high up, Teá still pulled him back. I nodded and yelled too.

"Se-acckk-Kai-acckk" I half-turned to Kaiba, "-fuck it I'm just using your damn name-" back to Noah and Mokuba, "Seto would _never_betray you! Or your trust! Noah is _using_you!" Mokuba had been frowning with mild rememberance at Kaiba's words, clutching his head with revelation at Yugi's and now looking at Kaiba with clarity by mine. He mumbled something, too low for any of us to hear, but seemingly displeasing Noah, who frowned and said something to Mokuba, only to be brushed off by the kid, who took one look back at Noah before running towards where Kaiba and I were. Said older brother reached out his hand to grab Mokuba's outstretched one.

The world froze.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: OH GAWD THIS CHAPTER IS A LITERARY MINEFIELD OF POSSIBLE SUE-NESS. I don't know about this chapter. I like it kind of, but I think the ending falls down a little. I don't really know what it's like to be turned into a statue however, so I can't lend my own twist to that XD**

**~Ava**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: AASDFGHJKL DIALOGUE CHAPTER AHEAD. It's quite light-hearted comparatively. Well, I was thinking about that bit, where they are all spirits in Yugi/Yami's head and their vauge banter when Yami walks in. I figure, they were doing it before he came in too XD**

**I've just decided to update like crazy until I have to go back to college so I can get all of the stuff out of my brain XD I shoudl have finished this arc by Sunday, before I go back to college on the Monday. And I need to find the money for the college's EXTORTIONATE fees which I haven't put aside for food/bills/rent. X_X**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~  
**

_Something's wrong._

_Teá? Is that you?_

_Sophie?_

_Hey, what? Why can I hear you guys?_

_Joey? What are you and Sophie doing here?_

_Okay. I'm offically weirded out now. What _is_ this room? Whay are all of you guys here? Why am _I _here?_

_Uhhh, Sophie, I don't know how to tell you this. But...well...you're a statue._

_..._

_..._

_...I'm _WHAT NOW?

_Well, what Tristan was _trying _to say tactfully was that we're _all_ statues now._

_...I don't feel any better about this Serenity. And why can't anybody tell me where we are? It's like...a cave or a maze or something in here. And I _swear_ those are hyroglyphics on the walls._

_Ahem..._

_Oh I get it. It's another one of those places that you can't tell me _all_ about right?_

_You sound bitter Soph._

_I _am_ bitter Duke._

_Yami just said that we each have to pick a card for him to use, seven in total. _

_Teá, how did you know that?_

_He's standing right _there _Sophie, it's not my fault you're too busy looking at a wall._

_...Love you too hun._

_My life had better not be in the hands of a quitter Moto._

_Oh god, why are _you_ here?_

_I was just thinking the same thing Callaghan._

_Oh come on, I think it's first name terms now _Seto._ After all, all statues were created equal._

_I don't remember giving you permission to use my first name Callaghan._

_That'll be because you didn't..._Seto.

_Oooh, that tic's going in his cheek. Hi guys!_

_Hey Mokuba!_

_Hi Mokuba!_

_Oh hey kid! You okay? And yeah you're right...it's lke a metronome..._

_Yeah, I'm fine _now _Sophie. Noah's out of my head for good now._

_Good. Now could someone tell me where Yami's at?_

_Oh he just left._

_...And I didn't get a look in with the card thing?_

_You were having so much fun annoying Rich-boy here._

_...Fair point well made Joey._

_So now what do we do?_

_I think we just wait until Yami beats Noah, Duke._

_Doesn't sound like the most thrilling thing to be doing Tristan. Oh hey! You're not a monkey!_

_...Thanks Soph._

_Oooh, sarcasm. Scary._

_Nice one Teá!_

_Thanks Soph!_

_Hey _Seto._ Knight toA3._

_Shut up Callaghan._

_Hey...I dredged up some really retro insults of mine for you two._

_Hmmm._

_I'll take that as a 'thank you'._

_You're deluded Callaghan._

_Yes, but I'm a _happy_ deluded person..._Seto.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: Short chapter, but I hope it made you smile.**

**FFFFT, my baby cousin just drew me a picture of Sophie. It's a typical kid drawning, but I was teaching her anatomy, (trying to teach a 7-year-old anatomy is...interesting to say the least), and I was quite touched.**

**~Ava**


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: WELL THAT DEADLINE PASSED BY DIDN'T IT? Sorry for the late update, but my past two weeks have been crazy. Seriously, they wouldn't be out of place in a soap opera. Stalkers, coursework, being the calm-person-who's-calm-was-broken-by-two-friends-fighting-who-then-had-to-resolve-their-argument-via-yelling, cancer. ECT. That and writer's block makes me a sad Ava.**

**RECAP AS TO WHY THIS TOOK SO LONG:**

**Coursework, laptop death, birthday, new netbook, more coursework.**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

The world started again.

I collapsed to my hands from my waist, not able to stand as I was coughing so hard from dust. I glanced up for a second, holding one fist to my mouth as I coughed once last time, and smiled at Mokuba lunging at Kai-_Seto _and hugging him. I felt a few vague memories niggle at the back of my head...something about a room? Or was it cards? I shrugged inwardly and turned my mind back to the matter at hand in time to hear Duke say something confusing.

"We're back! That must mean that Yugi won the duel!" He said, smiling and squeezing Serenity's shoulder, much to the chargrin of the robot monkey, Tristan. The three of us that were still on our knees frowned with varying degrees of confusion, Kai_-Seto_ seeming more annoyed than Mokuba or I.

"Duel?" Kaiba glared at Duke, "What duel?" Duke's hand tightened protectively on Serenity, Tristan doing the monkey equivalant and Joey moved infront of her, I snickered inside, evidently Serenity was loved. Teá answered K_-Seto_'s question with her own frosty tone.

"_Your_ duel, Kaiba. Yugi dueled using your deck and his in exchange for getting all three of your bodies back and for Noah to free us from this place," She gestured over my shoulder as all of us glanced at Noah and Yami standing on rocks that were slowly lowering into the ground. I frowned, debating the logic behind levitating rocks before shaking my head to clear it of such thoughts, I stopped trying to find the logic behind some things that happened to us around the time I found out that there were two Yugis. I looked back to the brothers, finding that both Mokuba and I were watching Kaib-_Seto_ intently, picking up on the tic in his left cheek that only appeared when he was suppressing annoyance. I should know, I'd triggered that tic many a time before.

"He dueled with _my_ deck?`" K-_Seto_ asked, keeping his voice deviod of emotion, "_My_ deck?" I rolled my eyes in mild disgust at the seriousness in his voice.

"Oh yes, it's the _ultimate_ travesty. Yugi _saved our lives_ with _your_ pieces of card." I wiggled my fingers, "Oww..." Ka-_Seto_ sighed exasperatedly.

"Callaghan..." He paused, shaking his head slightly, "You still don't understand." A sniff, "I wouldn't expect you to, either."

"I'm _deliberately_ the only sane one around here Kaibaaacck-_Seto_." His tic strengthened as I corrected myself.

"You are to address me by my last name _only _Callaghan."

"Darling, I don't listen to you at the _best_ of times-"

"-Callaghan. If you think that I will take kindly to-"

"Quit bickering! Both of you!" Teá snapped at us before pointing to Yami and Noah, Noah was..._thrown backwards_ by a light from the Puzzle Yugi had. I frowned, confused.

"Wha-"

"You have failed me for the last time, Noah." An oddly familiar voice boomed across my own, drowning out my question. Overhead, the sky darkened dramatically.

"That voice...it can't be..." Kaiba's mildly confused tone made me slightly worried, worry that solidified at the same time as the clouds did.

"Gozaburo!" Mokuba called the name of the man whose face was visible in the virtual clouds. Noah beamed happily.

"Yes! Father! It was all his idea! And he's going to hand over KaibaCorp to me!" He turned from us to the cl-Gozaburo, still smiling at the appearance of his Father, "Isn't that right, Father?" The laughter that followed made everyone think differently.

"Why do you think I would do that, Noah?"

"I _really_ don't like where this is going~" I sang under my breath, moving closer to Teá and cringing slightly at the sight of the man I had seen earlier. I may not have had an adaquate reason for hating him due to personal experience, but I knew a little of what he had been like and what he had done. I shuddered.

"Sorry, _Pop_ but your time was over when I took over KaibaCorp." Kaiba said, sounding equal parts bored and angry. I couldn't help the inner smirk that I got at the sarcasm, not to mention the vauge respect I felt for him at the moment. I mean, he was staring at his _supposedly_ dead Step-Father's face in a virtual sky and he hadn't even flinched yet.

"When I first adopted you, Seto," Gozaburo spat his name, "you were only for the purpose of serving my _real_ son as competition to get him up to the standard of a real Kaiba heir." Another dark laugh from the man, "But Noah's little..._accident_ changed my plans, you see, Noah needed a body and I didn't need Seto..." I saw Teá blanch at his words, my mind caught up to where she was and I too, quivered a little.

"You were going to transfer Noah's mind to Kaiba?" Teá pointed a hand at Gozaburo, fearless, "That's just sick!" Serenity and I exchanged glances and I edged a little closer to Teá. Another laugh from the man in the clouds.

"Ha! That plan died out quickly," a sigh of exasperation, "Noah soon proved that he wasn't fit for taking over KaibaCorp and besides, why would I want to change Seto's mind when he had a perfectly good one?" Gozaburo glared at said 'son.' "So I transferred all my efforts to Seto, until he stabbed me in the back and stole my company from me!" He said the last sentence with venom practically dripping from the words. I snickered a tad at his reaction, seemingly petulant for an older man. I glanced over my shoulder to the brothers, gauging their reactions. Seto was still glaring at Gozaburo with what seemed like every ounce of hate in his body and Mokuba was looking over at Noah, who had collapsed to the ground on his knees after hearing his Father's betrayal. I ran back over what their Step-Father had said in my mind, frowning heavily at one paticular clause. I braced myself, if Teá could call him out, I could too.

"You were _playing_ with children's _lives!" _I yelled, still partially hiding behind Teá, who had the common _un_decency to stop being my shield and move to my side rather than stay infront of me. My eyes widened slightly when she moved and I floundered in my accusation for a moment, but regained it at a look from Yami that clearly said, 'go-on'. I shook my head to clear it, "Tha-did it ever occur to you that you were going to essentially _murder_ a child for another?" I regretted speaking the second the heavy eyebrows turned in my direction and the eyes they shrouded narrowed at me.

"I fail to see how the trade would have failed, had Noah been successful heir material for KaibaCorp, I would have gone through with it. An orphan for an heir is n_ot_ an unfair trade-off, girl, it's basic business to fire the weak employees to make way for the stronger ones." I had been quailing under his scrutiny for most of his answer, but my sense of utter horror seemed to cut through it, giving me a slight burst of inner strength.

"_Employees?_" I glanced back over my shoulder to glare at Seto, "Did h-wha-" I choked on my words and waved my hands in defeat, I couldn't argue with an unethical bastard, especially one with the power to crush me if I said what I wanted to say.

"So now what?" Joey took over my indignant attitude for me, brandishing a fist to the man in the clouds. Gozaburo laughed.

"I had myself put in the same suspended animation as I had had Noah in after Seto stole my company. And now it is time for revenge, Seto!" Had I a wall, I would have slammed my head into it, this was all for _revenge? _Really? I thought that only happened in books and movies. My mouth moved before I reigned my inner monologue in, apparently the thinky-thoughts came out of the talky-mouth while I wasn't paying attention. Gozaburo glared at me once more and I decied I was already in too deep to _not_ make the most of it.

"What now, time to take over the world?" I snarked, feeling the adreniline rush that came with basically taking your life into your own hands for the sake of a one-liner. It appeared my stars weren't crossed today, as Gozaburo laughed at my last sentence.

"Why should I take it over, girl, when I can steal myself one of your bodies and bend the world to my will?" I frowned inwardly, that sure _sounded_ like 'taking over the world' to me, until my ears caught up with my brain and relayed the rest of what he had said. Yami beat me to the punch, incredulity-wise.

"You're planning one _stealing _one of our _bodies?_ How do you plan on bending the world to your will with one of _us_ as your puppet?" Yami had taken that same stance he had when he was supporting Joey against Odion earlier...huh, it seemed like a lifetime ago...

"Of course, none of _you_ little people holds anywhere _near _the amount of power I need, and I do have a personal score to settle..." His eyes travelled to Seto and we all got the hint.

"You _snake_." Seto hissed at his Step-Father, glaring at him again. If looks were bullets.

"Ha!" An ironic laugh from the older man, "You have the nerve to call _me _a snake? _You're_ the one who took away my company using underhanded methods, Seto!" My brows knitted together at his words, underhanded by _who's _rules? I had seen how he had been ousted from power, it seemed to me like it was more a morality tale about how brotherly love can overcome even the most bastard-y of clever men. I shrugged inwardly, bitterness was probably the answer.

"Yeah, but," I looked over my shoulder again, "sorry for this," back to Gozaburo, "he's only the techy guy, he deals in freaking _card games_," I could practically _feel_ the utterly dispairing attitude from behind me as I spoke, "he isn't exactly the _president_ of the United States or the British Prime Minister." My skepticism seemed to amuse Gozaburo however, as what I said seemed to warrant some form of, 'Villain's Exposition.'

"You are right, girl. What my adopted son has done with my company has devalued it-"

"Not what I sai-"

"But I am no fool-"

"Debatable." Came a mutter from Duke, standing in front of Serenity.

"I have placed several of KaibaCorp's old warheads in space, just out of range of any of the Earth's goverment's _best_ weaponry." We froze at the word, 'warheads,' "I shall bend the Earth's goverments to _my_ will and Seto will get the blame!"

"Well, fuck." Teá voiced my opinion in a rare moment of swearing for her.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: I'm sorry this took so long to come out, this is a new netbook that I am having to write on as the old one died a death after eleven long years of service, I had to use the money I was saving to go to America for two of my very good friend's wedding on this thing as I need it for my coursework. X_X Also, I'm writing this at the same time as I am writng up a 45,000 word essay on Tsarist Russia, the Nihilists and the troubles that Imperial Russia faced from the western world. Pity me please. And review, reviews are not only nice, but tell me what the hell I'm doing right and what the hell I'm doing wrong. JACK. WE HAD A DEAL, I UPLOAD THE NEXT CHAPTER, YOU REVIEW. ¬_¬ DOO EET. AND THE REST OF YOU, DON'T THINK YOU'RE GETTING OFF EASY. YOU TOO.**

**~Ava**

**(I love you all really XD)**


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: WORDS.**

**I am so close to murder at the moment. My new netbook just deleted four chapters of this, two documents worth of notes and my 35,000 words-so-far of that History essay.**

**Fuck you too, netbook.**

**Just a thing, I'm going to participating once again in NANOWRIMO, so this thing's word count will go up by more than 50,000 words over the course of November XD**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

A cave.

We were following a mentally unbalanced, recently betrayed, kidnapping, emotionally-stunted child (who was actually the eldest around) through a dark cave.

"Remind me _why_ I'm friends with you again?" I asked Yami, glancing to my right and raising an eyebrow as he looked back at me, this being the second time I had asked the same question in as many minutes.

"He is our only hope of getting out of this Virtual World and stopping Gozaburo." I was answered in kind, the exact words I had heard two minutes ago.

"I don't _trust_ him, Yami."

"He's our only option, Sophie."

I bit back a scream, glancing over to my left at the Kaiba brothers and glaring at them to back me up. Mokuba's eyes were trained on Noah, I briefly wondered why before turning my attention to Seto...deliberately ignoring both myself and Yami. I felt deflated.

"I hate you all, with love, but just...utter hate."

**~XxX~**

Noah had tricked us, of course we hadn't know it at the time, but after Joey's indignant yell broke the illusion of freedom, we found out it had just been us reliving our memories. I had been back in the pond, not fun. I glanced around the plaza where the seven of us found ourselves, instantly noting the absence of the two people I-

"That Noah bastard's gone." Duke said, looking around where we were, Monkey!Tristan on his shoulder like the parrot to his pirate.

"And Mokuba!" Teá said, anxiety tinging her voice.

"And Kaiba!" Yugi mirrored Teá's shock. I froze at his words, suddenly feeling...over-exposed...

"I-" My words choked off, what was I going to say? I wanted to find the person who only really showed me contempt and to whom I showed the same? I stepped backwards with a gasp while my friend's voices became a buzz to me. _Jesus H Christ, that _is_ what I want. Why? When did I become so attatched to him? To both of them?_ I only noticed that my friends were on the other side of the plaza and heading into the park when Teá yelled to me if I was planning on coming or not. I shook my head to clear the fog for a moment before nodding and following wordlessly. At least, I _tried_ to follow wordlessly, Teá however, hung back to give us a little privacy before speaking.

"So?" She started, prompting me to stop wallowing in self-serving confusion and pity to actually answer her.

"I want to go and find him." I sighed after speaking, barely taking notice of her understanding nod on my peripheral vision, "But, I don't want to leave you guys, I mean, I'm not some sort of...hapless puppy who needs to follow him everywhere..."

"No." Teá said, pushing me lightly in the shoulder so that I looked over to her, "you're a bored cat." I frowned at her analogy, not following. "When I was younger, we had this cat," Teá smiled at the memory, "She was _beautiful_, a tortie and she was very...demure." She chuckled slightly and shoved me again as we were walking, "Now, you're not demure-"

"-Hey!"

"-But you're like her. She _never_ followed us around, infact, she slept _all the time_. But if she wanted to, she'd wander on up to you and _demand_ love and attention." I frowned, not really liking where this could be going...

"Sooo?"

"So." Teá shrugged, "You don't _need_ to follow him. Do you _want _to?"

And just as I was going to verbally acknowledge my dedication to both of the brothers to my best-friend, we were attacked by Duel Monsters.

**~XxX~**

"I-I'm sorry..." I said quietly so that only Teá could hear me, she frowned at me.

"You're leaving?"

"Yes."

"You know that they're going to notice."

"Yes."

"And that you're leaving us in a time of need?"

I just about changed my mind then, but saw the sslight smirk she was wearing at the moment.

"Well, you focus on finding Mokuba and Kaiba, we'll find Noah and a way to get back, you round up the stubbon ones and lead them to us." She smiled at me after she spoke and I returned her previous shove in the arm before kissing her on the cheek.

"You're an awesome friend." And I fled in the direction of the KaibaCorp building. It didn't take a genius to figure out where he would go.

**~XxX~**

There is something, a feeling that only women and girls will ever get, when you are able to take the side streets and back alleys of a city without the fear of being accosted. I was reveling in it for the time being. Well, part of me was, a very small part at the back of my brain, the rest of me was fretting incessently over several things.

Where the bloody hell Seto Kaiba was.

Where the bloody hell Mokuba Kaiba was.

What the flying _fuck_ was I doing, chasing after a guy that I wasn't sure how I felt about rather than staying to help my friends who _actually_ cared.

I spotted him several seconds later, walking down the main streach of road that led to said KaibaCorp building before he stopped and looked up at it, seemingly thinking about something. I decided that now would be the time to play the, "Who-Can-Be-The-Most-Nonchalant" game.

"Y'know, this'll be my first time using the front door." I said, sidling up next to him and not even looking over to see his reaction.

"Hmm. No it won't, Callaghan." Was his, just as coolly delivered answer.

"Why?" I asked, still, neither of us moving our gaze from the top floor of the building.

"I am perfectly capable of doing this on my own, Callaghan. I do not want nor need you with me."

The words stung, but...didn't at the same time.

"Well, I _want_ to be here." I said, remembering Teá's words.

"Callaghan, I'm not an idiot."

"I know."

"Nor am I blind to what you are doing."

"I hadn't expected you to be."

"It isn't going to work."

"I'm not even sure what I'm trying to make work at the moment." I suddenly felt emotionally weary.

"You are _not_ coming with me."

"You are _not_ going in there alone." He scoffed at my words and broke eye contact with the building, looking at me instead.

"I can _and have_ done more than this without you or anyone else tagging along." It was my turn to scoff at _his _words, returning his glare with equal calmness.

"I know that, but this time, you have a choice and I'm making it for you. You are n_ot_ going in there alone, regardless of what you think I'm doing or what I'm trying to figure out I'm doing," I hadn't broken eye contact yet and my resolve wasn't waivering, all because of a pep-talk from my best-friend. I'd have to hug her when we got back to the blimp. "Because everytime the two of you bugger off without me, or are kidnapped, or go off to duel a dead man ontop of a virtual building I feel like I'm leaving two good friends to fend for themselves, and I don't like it." We continued the staring game for several more seconds before we both looked away at the same time.

"That's fairly hypocritical, Callaghan. you've left Moto and the rest of them to the dust." He didn't sneer at me this time and I smiled slightly.

"They can look after themselves, you on the other hand..."

**~XxX~**

**A/N: SO, I HAVE WIFI NOW. Which means I can upload this directly after finishing this at one in the morning and then start writing the second one. Yes, I'm always writing XD**

**~Ava**


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: I need to get this arc FINISHED. GOD, it's like I'm behind on a deadline that wasn't even set. XD**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

"..."

"...This is a _very_ long elevator ride..." I mused, prompting a remark from the person who was leaning on the railing opposite me, arms folded and staring out of the glass across the virtual city. Doubtless he'd seen this sight so many times it didn't do anything anymore, but looking out like that made me feel two parts queasy and one part amazed.

"Thank you for stating the obvious, Callaghan, as usual your deducive powers leave me awed." The remark in question didn't seem like it was meant to actively offend, more taunt me. I continued to very deliberately _not_ look near the glass wall and instead busied myself with my nails.

"Anytime, Lieutenant Sarcasm." Was my answer. _They look so scruffy._ I splayed my palm open to inspect my cuticles, _since when do I bite my nails? How did I not notice? _I finished my examination of my nails and then glanced over to Seto, trying not to see outside. "So," I began, voice a tad shaky from being this high up, "where are we going exactly?" He didn't look away from the glass while he answered.

"The top floor, Callaghan; my office." I heard him mutter something else lowly, it sounded vehement though...

"..." I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came. It suddenly struck me than maybe I _shouldn't _have come, it was going to get personal, I had already intruded on _most_ of his childhood memories and insisted on wandering into his office for no other reason than company and coffee. This was going to be _hundreds_ of times worse, a talk between Father and Son, but with both of them wishing for the other's slow death. Not to mention the fact that said Father could destroy the Earth if we weren't careful.

The lift dinged.

**~XxX~**

"I should have taught you to knock." The voice from behind the desk sounded like a mix between smug and malevolent, I hung by the door for a moment after Seto walked over to said desk and glared at the chair that had it's back to us.

"You weren't one for manners, Gozaburo." Was the sharp reply, I took a few quiet steps into the room, hovering by a cheeseplant when Gozaburo turned the chair to face Seto. His attention was solely focused on him, so I loosened a little.

"Now Seto, I just want to _talk_." The way he enunciated the word 'talk' made it clear he wanted to do anything _but_. Instead he just looked down a the large chessboard that was infront of him, moving another piece. The game looked half played, and in the final stages of a Scholar's Mate. I frowned, he didn't want a re-match with Seto did he?

"Even if we had a hundred years to _talk_,Gozaburo, I would still only have one thing to say to you." A glance down to the chessboard before Seto locked eyes with the man opposite again, "Let us out of this Virtual farce." I snickered, I couldn't help it after such a well delivered snark. Unfortunately, it drew attention to both myself and my cheeseplant shield. I quashed my rising urge to flee at the dark look Gozaburo gave me, instead doing what my Mother had always taught me when selling houses. Channel the nervousness into a smile.

"Hi." I said, keeping my voice normal, "We've met before." Two pairs of eyes looked at me in varied levels of vague amusement and utter annoyance.

"Get out of my office, girl." The cold finality behind Gozaburo's words made me suddenly know what the anxious feeling that people who had just been fired was, but a thought occured to me.

"It isn't your office." I answered, knowing what I was going to say next and just _feeling_ the hate I was going to get retro-spectively, "It's his." I nodded my head to Seto, not taking note of his expression. I took a step forward and gestured with my hands like a professor, "Admittedly, it isn't _his_ either, but that's only because _this_ office is virtual and the real one isn't." I looked up from my gesticulations to see eye-to-eye with the dead CEO, feeling my fear kick my heartbeat up a few extra notches, "But the real office is Seto's." I finished with a shrug, what followed was a pause in which I started to feel like a rabbit in the headlights of a car. But not any car, freaking _Christine. _A car that felt vengeful. I cleared my throat awkwardly.

"You seem _exactly_ like the type Seto would go for." Gozaburo said as I felt an insult brewing, "Brash and annoying, no class and uneducated." The words were said with malice but I didn't feel hurt, I knew he was a bastard already.

"Oh come on," I said, feeling self-concsious, "I scored pretty high on that IQ test in London."

"Quiet girl."

"Callaghan..." The look Seto gave me made me roll my eyes.

"Fine." I sighed and went back to examining my nails and stood just a little behind him, leaning against one of the low sofas. Once it becaome clear that I wasn't going to look up or answer back again, Gozaburo stood up to walk past us both. I overheard snippets of low conversation.

"-I hate you to the point of death, Seto-"

"-You couldn't even beat me as a kid-"

"-Duel Monsters, familiar?"

"-You're blaming _me_ for your suicide?"

"Well then Seto, I believe it's time to duel." Gozaburo's final words to his step-son before leaving the virtual office made me freeze. Should I go? I wanted to, but my earlier crisis of...faith? Affection? Privacy? Stopped me. I looked up from my nails and stood up straight.

"No, Callaghan." The words sealed my thoughts as Seto was halfway towards the door.

"I know...Kaiba." My words seemed to not have been expected, if only for a moment as he hesitated before nodding and leaving, not looking at me once. Once I was alone in the office I regretted it. I knew that I would rather be there, in the same arena, providing moral support that he didn't really need...but that was it. He really didn't need it. And this time, of all times, he needed to do it on his own. I got that now, I understood it. Instead, I wandered over to the bookshelf in the corner, picking up a book.

**KaibaCorp Stocks: '65-'75**

I felt a sinking feeling, there was going to be nothing of interest to me on this bookshelf was there? A few more quick checks of book titles, and that feeling was confirmed. I turned on my heel and glanced around the room again, there had to be _something_ to do while they were dueling...I absent-mindedly tapped the Isaac's Cradle on the desk and heard the rythmic clacking for a moment.

The computer.

Gozaburo had left the desk computer on after he'd left.

Glancing left and right, feeling like a naughty school-child, I sat in the high-backed chair behind the desk. After revelling in the sense of power I got from being in the boss's chair for once, I turned my attention to the screen.

**Kaibaland.**

I held back a giggle, Gozaburo had been the one telling Noah the blueprint's then? How petulant. I shook my head, manouvering the mouse to click on some more files, to snoop as it were. A part of my brain found it hilariously hypocritical of me to be complaining about privacy and then doing this, but the rest of me was intriuged, besides, it was all Gozaburo's stuff anyway. I whipped through several files containing information on the death of Noah and his virtual resurrection, what struck me was, for a Father trying to save his dying son, the dying son wasn't mentioned a whole lot. In fact, the tech was mentioned far more. I sighed, feeling a tad sorry for Noah before closing the window and looking for another interesting file to click on. _He really should log off before leaving his computer..._ I thought while browsing the names of folders, stopping when I came to a paticularily eye-catching title of melodrama.

**Death-T Analyisis: CONFIDENTIAL.**

The last word drew me in, reverse-psychology working a treat as I hovered the mouse over it, expecting a password prompt. None. I pondered over it for a second before realising that I was at Gozaburo's computer, it obviously had the highest access.

I clicked the file name.

Read it with growing horror.

And nearly screamed.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: FFFFFFFF, so none of you saw **_**that**_** coming right? For those of you unaware of the "Death-T" arc in the manga...you have two choices, Wikia it, or review and ask me.**

**And yes, she didn't follow Kaiba to the most important duel, yes she just called him by his last name again, yes it will be explained next time, yes I will be explaining what "Death-T" was anyway in a few chapters XD**

**~Ava**


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: Reading over the next few chapters...I've realised just how much of a sadistic bitch I am to poor poor Sophie...**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

There were two files in the main folder, one labeled 'Kaiba, Seto-Patient 228: Mental Analysis' the second labeled with something to the effect to the original title. I stared at the names for a good while, but instead clicked on the one detailing the 'Death-T' thing.

**Capsule Monster Chess**

Mokuba, cheating his way through some game against Yu-no, Yami. Mokuba lost, Yami...trapped Mokuba inside a capsule.

**Russian Roulette**

Mokuba again, somehow free at the mansion...Kaiba had summoned them there...a poisoned meal...Mokuba falling prey to the poison...

**Death-T 1**

...Teá, a tour guide at the insanity I was reading through, light guns, no, _real _guns! Kaiba had hired _hitmen_ and used _real lazer_ guns!

"What?" I yelped, reading through the paragraph's worth of event breakdown. The people I had come to consider friends...they were all..._demented_. I scrolled on through, the file seemingly like a car-crash since I couldn't look away from it. My respect for Tristan quadrupled after reading the he single-handedly took the three hired hitmen down though.

**Death-T 2**

I'm sorry, was I supposed to believe that Kaiba kept that mutant face-melting guy who hit him with a ruler if he fell asleep _under his employ?_ I slammed my forehead on the desk infront of me and when I reached the name of the thing that, I had now realised Kaiba was using to try to _kill_ Yami, Teá, Joey and Tristan, I closed the window. Resolving to continue reading later, when I _didn't_ feel like throwing up.

"Electric Chair Ride Of Death?" I sighed and almost snickered, "Honestly, Seto?" I stared at the other file for a moment...If I read it, would he try to kill me too? I shook my head, instantly against that idea. He wouldn't...I didn't know how long ago this whole 'Death" shit was...but now, I just couldn't imagine it. Plus, why would we all be hanging around together if they still wanted to kill eachother?

**Patient-228: Psych Eval.**

"Patient screams at...random intervals..." I recited the words on the screen quietly, feeling shaky, "In moments of lucidity..._feels himself to be repeatedly killed by Duel Monsters?"_ I closed that window too, standing up so fast that the chair was pushed back to collide into the wall. "Nononono..." I continued like that for at least a minute, pacing behind the desk and every now and then glancing at the computer screen like it was a rabid dog. I had no way to describe what I was feeling...it was all so insane, so fast, so wrong, so... "ARGH!" I screamed angrily, smacking the Isaac's Cradle at the opposite wall and panting with unrealeased emotions. "THOSE IDIOTS!" I was yelling now, thankful that my screams weren't shrill, "SO WHAT? YAMI BREAKS FUCKING MINDS NOW? SETO DOESN'T CARE FOR HIS BROTHER? WHAT KIND OF FUC-ARRRGGH!" I sat heavily back down in the chair, ignoring it's protests and buried my head in my hands. I was crying, yes, I knew that. I felt shaky, sick, nervous and horribly,_ horribly _confused.

I read the entire 'Death-T' rundown in one go.

**~XxX~**

I was still sitting in the chair, only this time I had pulled my knees up to my chin and was organising my rapidly-changing thoughts. The tears had stopped about five minutes ago, I rationalised my crying. It wasn't for any other reason than confusion and fustration. For the moment I was numb, and that has it's advantages, I was better at organising when I was numb anyway.

"He tried to kill them." I buried my eyes into my knees for a moment, "Yami...crushed his _mind._ Seto tried to _kill_ them all." I paused, "all over this mother-_FUCKING_ cardgame!" I heard my own shout and broke my stupor, literally leaping off the chair and sprinting out of the door, knowing the Duel Arena to be ontop of the building.

I almost broke the elevator button.

**~XxX~**

I was still running when I heard Noah's voice, seemingly omnipotent, call from the sky. He seemed to be halfway through something, but I had been too stunned to notice before.

"-You have three minutes before the missile is launched! You have to make it to the Arcade!"

I stumbled while running before regaining my footing. All the more reason to get where I was going. I skidded to a halt in a silver hallway, seeing the Duel between Father and Son at the other end. I stalked towards the end of the corridor, not caring about anything else for the moment.

"YOU!" I yelled at the top of my voice, glaring at Seto, about six metres above and infront of me, about to play a card. "GOOD GOD MAN. I SWEAR TO WHATEVER, IF YOU WEREN'T IN THE MIDDLE OF CRUSHING THAT BASTARD, I WOULD SMACK YOU SO HARD RIGHT NOW." My blood was boiling by now as Seto looked over his shoulder, placing the card down in attack mode.

"I thought you weren't coming Callaghan. A pity that you chose to contra-" Halfway through his sentence and I couldn't bare hearing him talk, why did I feel so..._betrayed?_

"WELL, I WAS ACTUALLY PLANNING ON GIVING YOU AND THAT MAN PRIVACY, SO YOU COULD BREAK HIM IN PEACE. BUT NOOOO," I took a breath, noticing that eventhough I was here to berate Seto, I was also insulting Gozaburo...and I was so mad I didn't care. "NOOOO, APPARENTLY, I COULDN'T DO THAT. BECAUSE I FOUND OUT SOMETHING. YOUR LITTLE. FUCKING. PLAYGROUND." I panted, regaining my strength and breath. There was silence for a moment before playing a card to crush the...I frowned, noticing for the first time, the Egyptian clown/golem thing that was Gozaburo's monster, it seemed easily felled by the Blue Eyes that was played...

"The missile's been launched!" Noah's voice sounded from the loudspeaker in the ceiling, I threw up my hands in absolute exasperation.

"Brilliant, I'm going to die with you people and I'll never get the chance to punch you." I said, not caring anymore. A flash of red prompted me to look back at the Duel Arena and freeze. "What. The. Fuck." I stated flatly, not even feelng shocked at the sight of a forty metre high, red...monster. "What the-" Four things happened very fast and almost simultainiously. The Gozaburo-monster dove for Seto, Yugi materialised from seemingly no-where and ran up to the control panel to pull a lever, Seto leapt to our level in time to avoid being hit and we all had to flee...my reaction time wasn't as fast as theirs however, leading me to feel a hand close around mine and drag me from my frozen spot. I stumbled into a run, feeling the hand let go as I sped up to a good run beside my frie-_people I associated with._ We broke into the outside, onto the roof and I felt the ground shake as we were chased. "OW! Damnit..." The walls behind us crumbled under the strength of the red monster and the three of us had to skid to a halt to avoid running over the edge of the building.

"What now?" Yugi yelled to the air, apparently the air was listening and had Noah's voice.

"Jump! It's your only option! I'll make an exit!"

"No fucking way, kid."

"No."

My cursing and Seto's bluntness were counteracted by three words from Yugi.

"We have to!" Yugi spoke before running and leaping off the edge. A millisecond's hesitation before I too leapt off the edge in a practiced swan dive, thankful that my mother had forced me into diving lessons at out local swimming pool.

I woke up in a horrible cliché.

It had all been a dream.

"Mokuba! Wake up!" Seto's voice forced me to open my eyes and actually get out of the pod I had apparently been placed in. I swung my legs out and stood shakily before glancing at the computer screen that dominated one wall of the room we were in. We had thirty seconds.

"Is he awake?" I barked, no time for my personal angst but certainly time to take some semblance of control.

"Noah!" Mokuba's voice answered me and I nodded, having not even looked at the three just yet, fleeing the room and knowing they were right behind me.

**~XxX~**

Four of us, running for our lives down a runway was _not_ how I had wanted this day to end. I had the lead on the other three, reaching the blimp before it got too far off the ground and grabbing onto Teá's outstretched arm, hauling myself onto the stairs and forcing a smile for her. I finally glanced behind me, in time to see Seto throw his brother onto the blimp, bowling over Duke and Tristan in the process, he himself leapt over them and landed next to Teá, Serenity and I. Yugi was grabbed by Joey and pulled onto the blimp in time for the missile to hit. Of course, byt that time two of us with the same idea had already fled to the control room, me to see if there was enough power to outrun the blast, Seto to...hit a big red button.

"This thing has wings?" I stated dryly, raising an eyebrow and glaring at him.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: Forgive the mountain of suck that is this chapter, I'm writing two essays at the same time. "This is not an assignment you can do the night before and get an A grade with." Challenge accepted Chimb, challenge accepted. XD**

**Yeah, I'm writing the next chapter too XD**

**Lightest ink? I CAN'T. YOU'VE DIABLED PRIVATE MESSAGING XD So I shall explain for everyone here.**

**Death -T was basically a theme-park built by Seto Kaiba for the sole purpose of killing Yugi and/or his friends due to two things, (A) Kaiba's the kind of petty idiot who take cardgames as SRS BSNS and hated losing, (B) Kaiba had already been defeated by Yami at said cardgame, Yami had proceeded to inflict the Penalty Game, "Sensation Of Death" on Kaiba, meaning that he basically felt like he was being repeatedly killed by Duel Monsters. The Manga actually has him debilitated and in a wheelchair for several chapters. If Yugi survived the levels of "death" he would Duel Kaiba. He did, and he won, inflicting another Penalty Game on Kaiba, crushing is evil side and making him vaugely normal. But the way that the entire volume went was terrible. He didn't care for Mokuba's safety and Mokuba tried to kill Yugi several times. Actually, in the first volume or so of the Manga, both the Kaiba's were little bastards.**

**Mina! HAR DE HAR HAR, I MADE NO SUCH BET. ¬_¬ XD **

**Mouzif? You made me laugh, thank you XD**

**~Ava**


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: OOoOOOoOOooOOooo I sense backstory~**

**~XxX~**

Mokuba had given Noah a small funeral, throwing some lilies from the main room into the sea, I had hung back, leaning against the wall and trying to rationalise my feelings away. I was angry. No, more than that, I was _enraged_. The "Death-T" fiasco was unforgivable and irredeemable unless I heard it from both of their mouths as to exactly _why_ and if they regretted it. If not, I would be spending the rest of the tournament in my room and with the unconscious members of the troupe. My eyes bore into the backs of the heads of both Seto and Yugi. Someone, or _someones, _were getting hit.

**~XxX~**

"You." I stated flatly, walking into Kaiba's so called 'private office' with two things in my hands, I had decided to go for him first, considering Yami wasn't around and I didn't want to yell at Yugi. I sat in the chair I usually did now and glared at him, when I got really, really, _unvelieveably_ angry, I went horribly calm. He didn't even look up from typing.

"Callaghan." I was acknowledged with a word.

"I want answers, Kaiba."

"You haven't asked a question, Callaghan."

"Death-T." The way I said it, even _that_ wasn't a question but it stopped him typing. Infact, for a second, I think it stopped him breathing by his lack of movement. Several seconds passed in silence before Seto turned to face me fully, he regarded me coolly.

"How much do you know of it, Callaghan?" His voice was level but his eyes betrayed the fact that he was genuinely curious.

"Gozaburo's computer." I answered bluntly, not breaking eye contact, "He doesn't switch of computers when he leaves them."

"An eco-lover he was not."

A vein pulsed in my throat. "NO." I winced and looked away from him, towards the screen. The three God cards were showing on it and I felt my anger boiling, I looked back to him, calming my voice. "No. Not diversions. Death-T, Kaiba." His eyes narrowed at me before he turned away too.

"No."

"Yes."

"No, Callaghan." He wasn't typing, just looking at the screen as I counteracted.

"I already read the file, Kaiba." I paused, "And I read yours too." Silence. Strained. Next next words he spoke were strained also.

"You _read_ my _file._"

"Your medical file, yes."

"...Get out, Callaghan." The finality in his voice, mixed with his resolve to continue typing didn't throw me.

"No." I scooted my chair closer to the desk so as to set the first thing down, my coffee, I noted his glance towards it and answered his unspoken question. "Attempted murderers don't get coffee."

"Out." The word was hissed at me and I snarled, shoving him hard in the arm.

"No. You are going to fucking _tell me_ what the _fuck_ was going through your mind when you decided to fucking build an entire _theme park _dedicated to _murder._ You hired a _serial killer_ for god's sake!"

"Get OUT, Callaghan. Do NOT touch me again." The enunciation on the two words and the repeated use of my last name broke my compousre and everything came out.

"Shut up! Just, shut UP! I've had it up to _here_ with your over-the-top arrogance and your sidestepping my questions!" I was growling now, "Tell me _why_, that's all I want to know! I just what to know _why the hell_ you did this? I thought I was getting to know you!" The glare he shot me spoke volumes, "Oh don't. I'm not just doing this to you, I'm going after Yami too. If he thinks it's perfectly okay to put people in coma's and make them feel like they're _dying_ over and over-"

"Out."

"_THIS_ IS GOING NOWHERE! _I_ AM GOING NOWHERE! _STOP_ CALLING ME CALLAGHAN!" I yelled at him, standing up abruptly and pointing at the door while I shouted. A second passed with me breathing rapidly and he stood calmly, looking down at me now that I was two inches taller and back to his height thanks to my (real) heels.

"Callaghan, you may have read my _personal medical file_, but that doesn't mean you _know_ me." Cold, like when we first met, "I can take you being around, because you can keep up and you won't _leave me alone_. But you invaded my privacy and now have the gall to confront me." He glared at me and I felt the wall go right back up, I felt like hitting him, so I did. Well, _tried _to. He caught my hand before it made contact with his cheek and glared at me. I gasped indignantly, how _dare_ he stop me from slapping him.

"Let go." I yanked my hand out of his grip on the 'go' and then frowned before my eyes widened. T_hat_...felt _horribly _familiar. "You-" I looked up from my hand to him, "You did that!" I was shocked now, I had assumed Yugi...

"I can't have someone dying in my tournement, Callaghan, I've already told you this."

"You _saved _my life." I sat down in my chair again, landing with a 'fwump,' "Why do you keep doing this to me, Seto?" The '_why do you keep making me an emotional scatterbrain'_ went unsaid. A sigh of exasperation from my left before he too, sat.

"And I thought we were making progress, Callaghan." I didn't have the energy to glare at him, instead setting the second thing down on the desk, a lemon muffin.

"It's a badge of honour." More silence passed. Just as I was about to say, 'not the muffin' he answered.

"Hmm." I could hear the mild suspiscion in his tone.

"I understood that after seeing your chess game..." I paused, trying to remember _why_ exactly I had taken to using his first name, "You're just...so..._frozen_ all the time. It seems that to get any degree of emotion out of you, people have to use your first name." I snickered, "Of course, with Gozaburo, it inspired hate, with Noah it was patronisation but with Mokuba...I mean, I know he's your brother and therefore the thing that you love and care for, but I just..." I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, I hadn't been looking at him before, preferring to lean forwards in my seat and rest my elbows on my knees, but now I_ really_ couldn't see him, "Ever since the first day of school, I have known three things. Teá is a good person to be friends with, both authoratitively and just in life, this cardgame is _apparently_ taken _very_ seriously and that you were a bastard." I felt the eye roll.

"Lovely, Callaghan, truly insightful." I opened my eyes and sat up straight after he spoke, staing at him and knowing that the only reason I wasn't blushing right now was because I wasn't thinking.

"But you're just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing, you're enough of an enigma to keep me interested, you're certainly intelligent enough to keep me talking and you're enough of a big brother to let me know that I'm doing the right thing when I choose to hang around even if annoys you." More silence, this was getting boring now.

"I bet _against_ him, Callaghan." Seto spoke with a half defeated half pained voice and my heart stopped for a second. Was he...willing to talk to me?

"You were an idiot." I agreed and smirked at the venomous look he shot me.

"I do not need _you_ to berate me too, Callaghan. Do you not think that I don't regret it? That I haven't tried to put it behind me? That when I look at Mokuba I don't remember the look on his face after I pressed the button to inflict the penalty game on him?" He snarled at me and turned away, I sighed.

"I don't think quite so little of you, I've seen you fight tooth and nail for him too you know."

"You read my medical file, Callaghan, you know what I went through. I _deliberately_ made my brother go through that. I forced him, to _teach him a lesson_."

"I can't say anything to make you feel better about Death-T, Seto. Nor would I want to. But I can certainly say somthing else, Mokuba still loves you, Yugi and his friends still hang around and hell, you saved Joey's life a few days ago, you saved Teá's too." I looked down at my left hand, remembering the virtual world and how someone had dragged me out of harm's way, "You saved my life." I sighed and clenched the hand to a fist, "And you've saved your brother countless times. I don't know who it was that built Death-T, but he sure as hell isn't here."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Meaningful pauses or not, if you don't eat that muffin, I will."

**~XxX~**

**A/N: I never really understood what was meant when people said that some characters just write themselves, but Sophie is one HELL of a writer XD I was not planning to go this way at alllllll XD I hate this chapter, but you guys know already that my inherent hate for Kaiba/OC and my perfectionist nature when it comes to chracterisations and plot stop me from liking this fic myself XD**

**~Ava**


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N: WHY THE SUDDEN INFLUX OF STORY FAVES/ALERTS? WHY MUST YOU PEOPLE DO THIS TO ME WHEN I DON'T UPDATE? XD**

**Just to note, this ISN'T a dead-fic and nor have I been stuck in writers block. In fact, it's more serious than that. I've had to become an almost full-time carer for my Grandmother as she has been struck down with her third/fourth bought of breast cancer. Thankfully we now have a professional doing so and I'm able to get back to my (other) life.**

** Panda-Chan FFFFFFF ILU 3**

**Ameyca. Firstly, OMG HAI THAR. 3 Secondly, I don't see Sophie as chubby, I see her as the exact opposite, I see her like she's a spindly spider. Along with her odd height it leads for a slightly insecure body image. Have you ever seen those weird spiders that are all spindly almost-not-there legs and, like, a tiny dot for a body? THAT'S SOPHIE. Minus six legs of course. And plus one mad mess of insane corkscrew curls in dark red. Though her face is a little rounder than most and her lips are at an imbalance. XD And no, no-one's drawn her yet. I've thought about drawing her, but it seems so immodest to do so myself doesn't it? Also, also, Sophie is not exactly Scottish. Her bloodline is undoubtedly Scot, but she's grown up in London for the most part. Hence her accent. **

**This is going to be a VERY short chapter, but succeeded by another one later today, I just need to ease myself back into writing ^^**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

I hadn't followed up on my threat, resolving to leave the muffin in peace. Instead we sat in silence, both of us refusing to break first.

"Thank you for..." I paused, knowing what I _was_ thankful for and not being able to actually say it, "...talking, " Another pause, "I think." I annexed, not leaving and catching the glance that he shot me and holding it for several seconds before he spoke.

"What do you want, Callaghan?" A sentence usually used as a prelude to a dismissal, yet I ignored that fact.

"Consistency." I answered so quickly that I didn't realise I had spoken for a minute or two, "I could have _sworn_ I wanted to scream and hit you a moment ago. And now I just feel drained…" There was a barely smothered snicker from my right.

"I feel sorry for you, Callaghan." His tone suggested anything _but,_ "Now go away. I don't think I can take another one of your…_hissy-fits_" I rose from my seat, eyebrow attempting to abandon my face as I glared at Kaiba.

"You're an infuriating bastard. You're lucky I'm tired…" I headed for the sliding door, seeing something on the side of the metal portal and smirking to myself. I reversed my eyesight, looking over at Kaiba's back to me, "I've become vaguely emotionally invested in you. This isn't over at _all_._"_

"I tolerate your presence, Callaghan." Was the answer I heard as I left with a smirk still on my face.

There was an intricate coded lock on the inside of the door.

Yet I could always get in.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: Like I said, VERY short chapter. But hey, there's another one next XD**

**This is a BRIDGE of a chapter XDDDD**

**~Ava**


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: Oh dear GOD, I've been out of the writing loop for so long X_x**

**Forgive me if these chapters are somewhat terrible.**

**A thought struck me the other day. Why do these Sues in fanfics never get antsy/emotional/angry on their periods? They're all supposed to be physically mature enough to have them, right? They already have DD-cups.**

**Oh yes, past me appears to be mocking present me. I had already planned out that Sophie's Grandmother died of breast-cancer and WHAT goes and happens? BLAH. Only one thing I can say about that.**

**I'M FUCKING MAGIC, MOFOS.**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

I was standing over my sink, hands braced on either side as pain stabbed in my abdomen.

I fucking _hated_ my period.

It was about two hours after I'd smugged off out of Kaiba's…'private' office and I had been feeling a tad queasy for a while. I, in my infinite wisdom, had pegged it on altitude sickness from being back on the blimp. Upon giving myself this answer, I'd promptly collapsed in the middle of my room with the worse cramps imaginable and scrabbled through my emergency meds that I kept on my person at all times. To say that I kept them on my person was different, however, than saying that I kept them refreshed. The empty aspirin packet did nothing to make me feel better.

So now I was standing over my sink and glaring at the person in the mirror for being an idiot. Part of my brain, at the very back, noted that I could actually pull off 'deathly angry' glaring _very_ well. Though another part of me noted that that was probably due to my _actual_ hate for the pain and nausea I was feeling right now.

Well.

At least I had an answer as to my violent mood-swing from wanting to punch Kaiba to wanting to sleep.

I had already rummaged through the underside cupboard of the sink and it _had_ turned up some personal and female hygiene items, so I wasn't unduly worried, however, the pain was a bastard I did _not_ wish to deal with for the next few hours, let alone the next week. It may have lessened since it's initial onslaught, but it was still there, I imagined it like a trapdoor spider, lying in wait for when I least expected it next. My mind wandered, who would be likely to have pain meds? Who could I _actually_ go to for pain medication? I raised an eyebrow to the girl in the mirror.

"Seriously? I didn't even think of the doctors?" I sighed and shook my head, "I wonder about myself sometimes." I pushed myself away from the sink and walked a bit around my room before deciding that the pain wasn't that bad anymore, but that I still needed to replenish my supplies. "To the hospital wing then." I muttered to no-one in particular.

**~XxX~**

The doctor I had finally found had been very helpful and had indeed given me one of the plentiful boxes of aspirin that were stocked around. I _had_ been vaguely worried by his lack-a-daisical attitude to giving me them, but he'd explained that they wouldn't put twenty-six tabs in a packet if you could overdose on them. I was about to leave the room when, for the first time, I noticed the other occupant. I chastised myself for not seeing Mai - still soulless - and looking as though she was sleeping. If I had accused the doctor of being lack-a-daisical then I had been too self-absorbed. I glanced over to the white-coated man who was leaving the room, what was his name again? I didn't even know…

"I hope you're okay." I started, hesitating before walking over and seating myself next to Mai's bed. I sat stiffly, mostly uncomfortable due to the fact that (A) I didn't really know her and (B) I was talking to a soulless shell that used to be a laughy, smiling human being.

I shifted in the seat and took Mai's hand. Relaxing a tad at the last thoughts, I may not have known _her_ but I knew how to deal with vegetables in hospital beds. And sometimes, just sometimes, you could get through to them a little, like they could hear you. I gathered my thoughts and thought over what I already knew about her.

"You'll be happy to know Joey's pissed as hell." I said, smirking as I thought about it, "He's gone off and sworn revenge for you. It's sweet, really, to see. But Téa and I _are _fairly wary of the consequences for him." I winced, "He does care for you, you know. he's just…well, Téa's right. He's kind of a jerk. More an emotionally stunted fool, but, yeah." I sighed and looked absent-mindedly around the room. "Oh! And Marik hasn't gotten to anyone else yet, so…that's good? I don't know really, Ryou's missing and Yugi doesn't seem to want to answer that question, so maybe he's got him too…" I paused and inspected Mai's nails, the silence not seeming as claustrophobic as I'd thought it would. "You know, I've forgotten why I even decided to talk to you. No offence," I added hurriedly in case she _could_ hear me, "but I mean, I don't really know you. You just…remind me of the young women that were in the cancer ward back home." Another pause, "I don't even know why I just told you that." I looked back at Mai, people in comas had a fascinating tendency to be like giant ears. In my life I had realised that it was easier to talk to a person who wasn't moving and couldn't answer back that to actual _live_ people. Oh, wait-"It's my birthday tomorrow…" I said, frowning out of the window above her bed, "Somewhere out there on land, my mother is either - well she almost certainly _is_ - spitting fire over my absence, _and/or_ wondering if I've run away again." My eyes bugged out of my head as I looked quickly down to Mai before remembering that she was in a _coma_ and I was just talking to myself basically. "God, I've got to be more careful about who I start spilling childhood angst at." I laughed a little, disentangling my hand from Mai's and smiling slightly, "We _are_ going to get you back. Somehow. Don't tell Yugi I said this, but I'm beginning to believe his whole…'faith in your heart/friends' schmaltz." I hooked my fingers round the phrase before getting up to leave.

"And what do we have _here_ then?"

**~XxX~**

**(I swear I will never EVER do another Author's Note in the prose, but MY GOD I really wanted to end the chapter there and torture you guys XD)**

My heart stopped before spluttering back to life along with my speech.

"Ohgod." I choked out.

Marik, the insane one, was standing in the doorway, blocking the only exit. He was smiling, and _not_ in the nice way.

"It's nice to see I inspire a healthy amount of…_respect_." He said, smiling still. My mind raced. He was an Androphonomaniac and happy with being so. I had read about them in my Psychology textbooks, 'Androphonomaniac' roughly translated as 'bat-shit crazy.' As my mind was blathering on my eyes tracked Marik across the room as he went to stand next to Mai's soulless form. I felt torn, one half of me wanting to protect her, yet knowing it would be useless, the other half wanted to run for her fucking life.

"Wh-" My voice came out strangled and shaky, I ignored Marik's amused look and took a steadying breath. I levelled my gaze at him, playing music in my head to drown out any encroaching hysteria. Unfortunately, the only music that really came to mind was 'Echo & The Bunnymen: Killing Time'. Not for the first time, I realised that my brain had a sick sense of humour and no tact. "What do you want here?" I asked, keeping my voice steady with no small effort. I was subjected to an intense once-over before being privy to an answer.

"Odion. Have you seen him, girl?" The question could have been innocuous, _would_ have been innocuous, had it not been asked by a man who could flick his wrist and kill me. I debated back-chatting before realising that my self-preservation was of _greater_ concern to me than my sarcasm.

"No." I answered shortly before deciding to chance a question, given the distance between myself and him, it would take him one short step to get within arms reach of me, by that time I could have shot out of the room, the way my body had tensed. "Are you…going to kill me?" A short, barked, laugh from the other man until he rounded fully on me.

"That depends," Marik shifted the Millennium Rod in his hand so it glinted in the moonlight slightly, "Are you going to cause me trouble?"

"I can't make promises I cannot keep." I answered slowly, choosing my words carefully.

"Neither can I." He shot back, lightning fast. "But no. Not at the moment." Another dark laugh, "Where would be the fun in killing you where no-one can see? Least of all the _precious_ Pharaoh." He spat the last two words before grinning manically, "No. I'd rather kill you where he can see you, and he can know it was _his_ fault another friend fell."

I was shaken, I can't lie. But I was also vaguely relieved, in a weird, _weird_ manner. At least I wasn't going to die right _now_. I hoped. He was still insane, he could still go back on his…_word_.

"Forgive me if I don't fall to my knees in relief." I bit back sharply, forgetting my 'Life Sarcasm' equation in the heat of the moment. "You aren't someone who's word I can exactly _trust_."

"I assure you. The feeling is entirely _mutual_." He snickered as I kept my back to the wall, shifting nearer the door, ready to make a break for it if he _did_ decided to renege on his vow. I kept my gaze locked on him too, as he turned is back to me. I fled, heart pounding so wildly in my chest I could feel it in my throat, nausea rising also and with everything else forgotten, I heard a yell.

"_Tell your dear Pharaoh that I'm _so_ looking forward to our next duel!"_

**~XxX~**

I had run in a random string of twists and turns, for some reason in my irrational state it felt like Marik could see me through the walls, so I still ran. It took another three minutes for me to finally slow to a stop and lean against a wall, panting heavily. I still felt my heart thundering in my ribcage but at least, this time, it was due to an intense work-out session than almost being murdered. A hysterical thought crossed my mind, _'you're learning how to run in high-heels! You didn't break your ankles! Good for you.'_ I was still attempting to regulate my breathing when the door I had leant against whooshed open and I stumbled backwards, lost my balance and landed on the floor in a heap in the room beyond it.

There was an awkward moment.

"I thought I told you to leave me be, Callaghan."

**~XxX~**

**A/N: Later today/ later tomorrow THEY'RE THE SAME THING, I SWEAR.**

**My god, you're all so lovely about why I was away! XD And yes, I promise I'll start writing again! I've already got so many ideas! And yes Shadow, the Sophie/Seto dynamic that used to be very "I HATE YOU, YOU BASTARD. / YOU'RE A USELESS ANNOYANCE." Is now more, "Oh dear lord you annoy me./ Why are you still here, go away." XDDD**

**I've almost finished the next chapter~~~**

**~Ava**


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N: Writing this directly after the last one! Did you know that it's the Christmas holidays this week? I get to get off College for a few weeks! EXPECT UPDATES. XD**

**SHADOOWWWW: Ahhh, I've missed you~~ ¬_¬ How dare you be completely correct. OH, I AM SOOO INVOKING THE SHADOW PROCLAMATION ON YOU, BETCH. XD**

**ALSO: NEWS AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER. AWESOME NEWS.**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

"Oh, fuck off."

This was _not_ the answer Kaiba expected to get from me I guessed, due to his raised eyebrow and vague look of inexplicit shock.

"And why would you say_ that_, Callaghan? May I bring to attention the fact that it was _you_ lurking outside _my_ bedroom?" A very_, very_ faint smirk appeared on his face at his own word. And once more I felt myself wanting to slap him.

"I'm going to make three things _extremely_ clear, _Seto._" I hissed his first name, fully intending disrespect and being rewarded with narrowed eyes. "Thing number one," I held up three fingers and ticked them off one by one from my position of being partially sprawled on the floor. "I was not _lurking_, I was _catching my breath_." I glared at him but continued before he could interrupt, "Thing number two, I was _catching my breath_ because I had been r_unning for my life_. And thing number three, I had been r_unning for my life_ because I had just been in the hospital wing and was confronted by a freakishly psychopathic Marik." I frowned at the last point and raised another finger, "Adding a fourth point, I had _no _idea that _that_ was the door to your room. Why are you so close to Yugi's?" Another pause, "Why are you still awake?" And another, "And why isn't your _room_ near the office-thing?"

"Are you quite finished, or are you going to get distracted by a piece of dust next?" Was Kaiba's 'answer' to my questions. I shot him a glare but stayed silent. He nodded curtly. "I assumed you were lurking because you always seem to be nearby, you are _alive_ after your confrontation are you not?" I nodded, "Then I see nothing the matter. I am awake for reasons I don't care to divulge to _you_ and finally, contrary to both popular belief and my own wishes, I do actually _have_ to sleep sometimes, hence the room." There was another awkward silence.

"Look," I began, "I've just _narrowly escaped a murdering psychopath, _and you somehow contrive to _not_ be concerned? At all?" He looked down at me for several seconds.

"I didn't say that I wasn't concerned, Callaghan."

"Yes you did!"

"I _said_," Kaiba sighed exasperatedly, "that I saw nothing the matter. And there is _nothing the matter_ with you still being alive. If you _had_ been murdered, then there _would _have been some cause for concern."

"…"

"…"

"…So you'd rather have me alive?"

"…There's less paperwork that way, Callaghan."

"Hnnn, yeah, I have nothing to say to that casual disregard for my life." I glared at him from the floor, smirking slightly. He raised an eyebrow.

"You could take it by getting out of my room, Callaghan. I don't even know why you decided upon _this_ room in particular." The glare he gave me clearly meant, '_explain._" I glared right back.

"It wasn't on _purpose _if that's what you're suggesting." I stated flatly, narrowing my eyes, "I just needed to stop for a breather. _You're _the one who opened the door." I gestured to him, "Blame yourself!"

"Oh believe me, I'm regretting it now."

"…"

"…"

"…Why did you open the door anyway?"

"Reasons."

"Reasons? That's a word, not an answer."

"Reasons I don't care to share with _you_, Callaghan."

"…"

"…"

"…Knight to A3." I broke the silence and changed the subject. The reply came back lightning-quick.

"Knight to C3."

"Knight to F3."

"Pawn to E4."

"Haa…That's a TV Ch-" I broke of at a mildly amused, mainly disparaging look from Kaiba. "Fine, Knight to G5."

"You're easily distracted for a chess player. Pawn to H3." He said, still looking down at me as I crossed my legs at looked up at him. The last few moves had been made in the space of a minute and I ran over the suspected positions on the board in my brain.

"It's my style, what can I say? Hnn...Knight to H3. I take your Pawn." A raised eyebrow from my opponent as I sighed at his smug look, "You, of all people, know that I had to have seen it coming."

"Queen to H3. I take your Knight." He paused for a second, "A Knight for a Pawn? Really? Do you think that was worth it?"

"It depends," I shrugged and smirked, "Are you any closer to telling me the reason you opened the door?"

"No." He paused and frowned at me, "And what on Earth does that have to do with chess?" I rolled my eyes overly-dramatically.

"Nothing! I don't know! I'm bored, I've still got residue adrenaline running through my veins! I want to talk to Téa but it's too late at night to do that. I want to find out _why_ you're a vaguely normal person sometimes but not every time." I sighed, "And if you could tell me the time I'll tell you another reason why I'm antsy." Kaiba glared at me for a second before glancing at his watch, I noticed for the first time that he hadn't changed either. Which meant that no-one on this blimp had a wardrobe. I _did_ wonder where the hell he'd stashed the coat though…

"It's just after two thirty, Callaghan. At night." The last two words were given deadpan, as if to make it a point that I really shouldn't be around.

"Huh. I spent longer than I thought with Mai…"

"The other reason, Callaghan?" Kaiba asked, sounding like I was trying his patience. I decided to strike a deal.

"A reason for a reason?" I bartered, splaying my hands to really push the point across.

"Why, Callaghan? What are you going to do once you've found out?" It wasn't a genuine question, I could tell that, partially from the tone of his voice, mainly from the smirk on his face. I snickered.

"My look on life is it's like...an easter egg hunt. I go searching for these _things_, people, reasons, people's reasons and when I find them I have no idea what's inside, just that it's going to make it all worth it." I said, looking pointedly at him after I'd said 'people's reasons.' The smirk on his face twitched slightly as he spoke again.

"Oh. Well," Kaiba said, seemingly holding back laughing at me, "that explains why you act like a five year old and are attracted to bright, colourful, plastic things." I whistled through my teeth and laughed.

"…I walked into that one, but the analogy stands true either way. Reason for a reason?" I looked up at him again as he leant against the wall opposite me. He sighed.

"Fine, Callaghan. Get on with it." He glared at me, "But after this, you're leaving, whether I have to throw you out or not." I tutted at his words.

"Tshk. So violent and tactless." He frowned slightly at my words and I snickered. "Today," I made a grandiose wrist flourish to myself, "Is my seventeenth birthday and it's the first time I've been away from home for one."

"What an extreme anti-climax, Callaghan. I was expecting something interesting from you." He smirked again. I rolled my eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time in his presence.

"Oh, like your's is any better. At least I wasn't expecting any kind of 'congratulations.'" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Hmm. Mokuba stole my laptop from this room. I was going to get it back." He said feigning disinterest in his words as I laughed slightly.

"Ha! He probably knew you'd try to work again." I pulled a face, "He just wants you to sleep. Aw, that's actually quite sweet." Kaiba 'mm'ed' again, still feigning disinterest. I almost rolled my eyes again, everyone could quite clearly tell that he loved his brother and vice-versa, yet he still endeavoured to hide it. Another reason I was going to have to find sometime. I flapped a wrist at him to get his attention.

"Are you going to help me up?" I asked, glancing at him and sensing the almost-laugh.

"You are not an invalid, Callaghan, I'm sure you can get up by yourself."

"In that case, you are not a gentleman, Kaiba. To leave a distressed lady in stupid shoes helpless in her attempts to rise gracefully." I raised an eyebrow as he did at my words, flapping my wrist at him again.

"You're not a lady and if you were distressed by not being able to get up I would go out of my way to avoid being associated with you."

"Fine. I'll be rude. Help me up, jerk." I clocked the rolling of the eyes from the person opposite me as he leant forward a little and grabbed my wrist, puling me to my feet single-handedly. I dusted myself off. "Show-off." I muttered with a half-smile.

"You're essentially useless, Callaghan."

"You're essentially frustrating, Kaiba."

"Go away, Callaghan."

"I was already awaying, I assure you."

And with that grammatical murder, I flounced out of the still open door and knocked on the door of Téa's, not wanting to sleep in a room by myself after the Marik encounter

.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: And so ends the filler chapters.**

**ANYWAY, NEWS.**

**Several things, (A) I'm close to hitting 100 reviews! And you know what that means? Character Q&A of course! Review and add in your questions to any of the characters, (Sophie, Kaiba, Yugi, Téa, Joey ect ect) And I'll have a chapter of answering them! You can also ask me questions, but I think you'd be more interested in the characters. (B) It's Christmas soon! I'm Jewish, so we've already had Channukah, but Christmas is now almost universally celebrated so hey. XD The thing here is…I'm going to be writing the DOMA arc too, right? Well, DOMA and the KC Grand Prix are set in LA. This means another continent and Sophie is going to be challenged to several duels, not tournament ones, oh HELL no she's nowhere near that good. But she DOES need opponents. THIS IS WHERE YOU COME IN. I want YOUR OCs, new or established, to duel her. To be in the background of the Grand Prix, To chat with her and for her to chat with. Ect. Once again, review with a bio of the OC you want me to use.**

**Happy Holidays!**

**~Ava**


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N: Almost at 100 reviews, guys! I've got so many OCs from you! Which is brilliant, they're all being conversation snippeted right now XD**

**You still have time to get your character questions in too!**

**Thank you all for being such amazing readers! It's getting closer to a year's worth of writing and reviewing with every day, and I just want to say thank you again!**

**On another note, since I've gotten so many questions as to what Sophie looks like, I went and made her likeness! If you go to my profile, under the TV Tropes link, it says "BEHOLD SOPHIE GRACE MCCALLAGHAN." If you can't figure out what that link leads to. Get out. Get out of reading my fic right now. XDD**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

Teá and I barely spoke the night before, she basically read my mind, after blearily opening the door, she shoved the blue fleece throw that was at the end of ever bed at me and I made my way over to the sofa, re-arranging the cushions and barely having the sentience to pull my shoes off before crashing out. I was suddenly shattered, the fatigue of running cramped my legs as I tried to sleep and when I woke up the following morning I surmised that running for so long was the new devil. Speaking of waking, I woke up at eight thirty, giving me five-ish hours of sleep, so it was no wonder that all I did was stumble back to my room (quietly, I didn't want to wake up my best-friend) to brush my teeth, shower and then wander into the main room for a cup of coffee.

That was two hours ago.

**~XxX~**

"SOPHIE!" I heard Teá's voice from behind me seat as I flicked through various TV channels of utter uselessness. I jumped in my spot, feeling a hug around my neck before my friend plonked herself next to me.

"Good morning?" I ventured, wondering why she was so utterly perky right now without the aid of caffeine. I really was jealous of her for that, and then I remembered-

"Happy Birthday!" Teá smiled at me as I set my coffee down. I had forgotten what number this was. She hugged me again and this time I hugged her back, her smile being infectious.

"Thank you!" I said as I returned the hug, "I guess I wasn't thinking about that right now." I added, pulling back and picking up my coffee again, taking a sip. Teá narrowed her eyes at me faux angrily.

"Put that down." She said, pointing to my coffee. I hesitated before complying.

"Wh-HEY!" I _had_ started to ask a question, but she'd shoved me in the arm so hard I nearly fell off the couch.

"How could you almost forget your birthday!" Was the indignant reply.

"Wh-I didn't _forget_ it _per say_, I just…was thinking about other things." Other…blue-eyed, annoying, tall, jerk-arse things that had wandered into the main room fifteen minutes after me and disappeared into his office. The _only_ reason I felt safe enough to stay alone in the main room. _Damnit._

"Oh? And what would these other things be? Would they be the same things that made you wander into my room so you could sleep on the couch?" Teá crossed her arms and nailed me with a look that clearly meant _'explain_'. I was being nailed with that look a lot recently.

"Uhh…Now, I don't want you to _worry_ or anything but…" I tailed off, trying to think how to word what I had to say next, "But…Marik, kinda wants to kill me in front of the Pharaoh..." I ran through the sentence in one long breath. Teá went from '_explain _to '_well fuck_' in 0.6 seconds.

"And you know this…how?" She asked tentatively. As I sighed and picked up my coffee again, a nervous reflex.

"I…kinda…bumped into him…in the hospital wing…"

"_Why_ were you in the hospital wing?"

"Uhh…_stomach pains?_" Fortunately, 'stomach pains' was a universally recognised female code and Teá got the idea.

"Ahh."

"Mmm."

"But why did you hang around?" She asked a question that made me squirm uncomfortably in the sofa. I always felt odd telling other people that I talked to a person in a coma. Always, even my own Mother.

"I…was talking to Mai." I said, glancing over at Teá. Even though I knew that _she_ of all people wouldn't scoff and laugh at me, I still felt weird saying it out loud. Her expression softened as she sighed sadly.

"Speaking of her, Joey just told me that he's going to duel Marik to get her soul back." I sat bolt upright at Teá's words, slamming my coffee down on the table and yelping.

"HE WHAT?" Teá clamped both hands around my upper arms, steadying me and forcing me to look into her eyes.

"You can't tell him I told you and you can't yell it out loud!" She seemed to hold back a laugh at her last words as I calmed my voice, mind still racing.

"But he _can't_!" I hissed quietly, "Marik's a _classic _Androphonomaniac! That means he has _extreme homicidal insanity!_" I quoted my textbook verbatim, too nervous to put it into my own words.

"Sophie, do you remember what I said when Joey decided to duel Odion-"

"-He thought _he_ was Marik too."

"Yes, but do you remember what I told you?" I cast my mind back, remembered, and sighed defeatedly.

"_It's his choice and we have to support him in his choice. _God I hate you when you're speaking sense._" _I sighed again and smirked behind my hand as Teá processed what I just said, I felt another shove, this one less forceful than the last. I looked up and smiled.

"Ooh! Ahh crap." Teá's eyes lit up before she cursed.

"What?"

"Your birthday present." She started as I choked on my coffee, she laughed, "What? I shop early. Anyway, it's back _on land_." Teá said, pointing at the floor of the blimp. "At the back of my wardrobe…But still! You're here! Not there!" She bit her lip, "How'd you think your Mom's feeling?" I winced behind the cardboard cup.

"I'm sure my M_u_m," I over-enunciated the 'u' and looked pointedly at Teá, who shooed with her hand. I smirked before becoming mildly serious again. "I'm sure she's fine, working, chatting with Sandra, playing with the girls and generally cursing my name to the dust. She'll be fine once I get back, of course, she'll probably ground me for the rest of my life, but, what the hey." I shrugged, "It's not l-" My eyes widened as I made a connection in my mind.

"What?"

"Berightback." I spat out the words, already at the other side of the room and storming into the room with the person I had be avoiding thinking directly about.

"_Private_ office. I'm sure I've said this before." Kaiba didn't even look round at my dramatic entrance.

"Shutup." I waved my hands frantically, needing an answer as quickly as possible. "Is any of this, this finals thing, televised?"

"Yes, Callaghan. Of course it is. Though the energy disruptions whenever a God Card is played is an _extreme_ annoyance." He hissed through his teeth at the mention of some of his precious tech having a weakness and/or failing. I, however, slumped slightly.

"She'll have seen some of it then…she's a gun-jumper…she'll think we're all…yeah. That's not good." I was muttering to myself now as I leant against the wall next to the door, which had closed behind me. I buried my face in my hands. "This is so very, _very_ not good."

"I doubt your Mother thinks you _dead_, Callaghan." Came the reply from in front of me. I glanced up and lowered my hands. Kaiba had turned his chair round to face me and had raised his eyebrow at my mutterings.

"You have ears like a bat." I muttered again and saw a twitch of a smirk. I became instantly defiant at his self-satisfied smugness. "And what makes you think that?" I folded my arms, mirroring him, "You don't know my Mother! You have _no idea_ as to how much she jumps to conclusions!" I remembered a certain incident three years back which was best left forgotten. Kaiba smirked fully now.

"The only feasible manner in which any of us could actually _die_ is if the blimp crashed, or in some other catastrophic accident in which there would be no survivors-"

"-Not helping-"

"-And _my_ death would be splattered across every magazine and newspaper, not to mention the internet and television channels." He paused as my mouth dropped open, _this_ was his reasoning?

"I-I-I think you've broken my ability to be shocked." I sputtered, completely disbelievingly, "That's the single most egotistical, self-centered, _arrogant_ thing I've ever heard from you!" I closed my mouth and regarded him again, narrowing my eyes. He wasn't _this_ tactless…surely? "Which…is why I _fail_ to believe it's your _real_ answer…" I slowly hazarded voicing my suspicions. There was a pause before I was rewarded with a genuine half-smile, the first time since the Virtual World fiasco. _Damnit._ I cursed myself _and him_ again. He inclined his head to me slightly, still half-smiling.

"And _there's_ the real reason." He snickered slightly, "You're no idiot and anyone who could stand to raise you for seventeen years has to be astoundingly patient and _also_ not an idiot." There was an awkward silence as we both simultaneously realised that we were straying dangerously close to actual _normal person_ friendship. He turned back to his work as I looked away and cleared my throat. I decided to chance something, it _was_ my birthday after all…

"Salutations, Sophie?" I half-questioned. half-prompted. There was a pause.

"Congratulations, Callaghan." He answered, not turning round. I smirked.

"Back-handed compliments, a compromise _and_ alliteration. Man, do I feel special today." I deadpanned my way out of the door, looking around the main room for Teá. I found her by the large windows that looked out onto the ocean. Well, it _had_ been the ocean. It appeared we were now hovering nearby…uhm…

"_Attention Duelists, we will be arriving at Alcatraz, the location of the Battle City Finals, in fifteen minutes."_

The pilot's announcement cleared up my confusion as I reached Teá. She turned to me, leaning against the window.

"What was that about?" She asked, folding her arms and regarding me warily. I hand-waved her concerns.

"Oh nothing, I thought that this was being televised all the time. In which case Mum would have…well, not taken it very well to say the least." I laughed a little at the thought as Teá nodded and smirked.

"Hmm. I meant something more along the lines of, kinda strange that you can get through the only locked door in this place." She had said this after we'd started walking to the hospital wing (apparently they all went to check on Mai every morning) and we were halfway down the hallway before I stiffened.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope."

"…"

"You okay?"

"Plotting."

"I feel like I shouldn't have told you that…"

"…"

**~XxX~**

**A/N: And so Sophie plots her rewenge. (Blackadder reference, NOT a typo. XD)**

**And because I'm so close to 100, you guys get…A DOUBLE UPDATE! There, feel special.**

**~Ava**


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N: I like my new writing journal, it's already got pictures doodled all over it pertaining to parts of the l=polt, it's already got whole sections of conversation and whole other sections of prose scattered inside it, it's already plotted out duels between OCs and whole deck structures around their personalities, it's already got everyone canon's back stories scribbled in it.**

**And this is why I get A*s. BECAUSE I GET OBESSESED WITH TOPICS AND SPENT DAYS OF MY LIFE ON PROJECTS. XDDDDD Ahhh OCD, you _are_ useful for something in the end. XD**

**Don't forget, you can now see Sophie~~**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

I was still thinking on Teá's words by the time that we'd reached the room the Mai was in, we were greeted by the scene of the others in some kind of miniature war.

"I'm not having Serenity stay here alone!"

"Well I'll stay behind, Joey!"

"Like hell _you_ will, Tristan!"

"Could the three of you _please_ stop arguing?" Serenity's voice cut through the overlapping ones of Joey, Tristan and Duke, who all turned to look at her. Teá and I, meanwhile, stifled laughing. Yugi, it appeared, had given up in the fray and had opted to, instead, talk to the doctor.

"What's the problem?" Teá asked, having walked in a tad after Joey's words. This drummed up another short bought of disgruntled bickering before she glared at them in turn. "Shut up. All of you." Her eyes narrowed and suddenly I realised just how she'd stayed as a firm friend of the other three boys. Teá was _fierce._ Yugi spoke first, being the only one to not look ashamedly down at his shoes.

"Serenity wants to stay behind and keep Mai company, Joey doesn't want her to stay behind on her own, Tristan and Duke are…well…"

"_Tristan and Duke?"_ Teá asked knowingly. Yugi smothered a laugh and instead nodded. I, however, failed at smothering and broke down, laughing so hard I stopped making a noise and started clapping my hands together like a retarded seal. I was, very carefully, ignored.

**~XxX~**

"Sophie'll stay." Serenity had said, a foreign firmness in her voice as the three males _once more_ started fighting over her. She had looked across at me pleadingly. I had shrugged. We had spent several hours making idle chatter and she'd revealed to me that there was actually a kitchen on the blimp. I'd made a metal note to raid it later. We glossed lightly over the shared experience of messy divorce and she'd told me about all that Joey had done for her since they were children. I felt proud of my blond-haired friend.

And then the sky over the Duel Tower had turned black.

And then Serenity had fled for the Duel Tower, and I had followed.

And now I regretted it.

**~XxX~**

Joey collapsed.

"NO!" Yami's yell yanked me out of staring like a fool at Joey on the ground, Mokuba clambered up the raised platform and checked Joey's vitals. There was a moment before I saw his eyes widen and he choked.

"He's-he's not breathing!"

Silence.

"JOEY! NO!" The strangled cry from Serenity as the platform lowered into the flooring was heart-wrenching and before the platform was even fully settled we had flocked to the inert body of our friend.

_Not...breathing._ My mind stuttered over the words and I cautiously knelt beside Teá and Serenity, the blonde mess of hair in front of me and snaked a hand to Joey's throat, checking for a pulse.

Nothing.

I re-adjusted my hand.

Nothing.

Again, slightly more frantic this time.

Nothing.

I withdrew my hand as though bitten by a snake. I was shaking, I hadn't realised it but it was horribly clear now as I tried to stand. I wasn't looking at my friends, I couldn't see them, all I could really see was the body..._corpse?_ Of a normally firebrand friend.

_No!_ I thought vehemently, _Not a corpse! Sophie Grace McCallaghan, how DARE you think so pessimistically. Has Teá taught you nothing? Has Yugi shown you NOTHING?_

Still shaking, I glanced to Yami. The spirit who shared Yugi's body was staring at Joey's…_person_, slack-jawed and blank-eyed. I vaguely heard Tristan yell at Joey, Mokuba calling for the doctors, Serenity begging her brother to wake up, but something else, another voice, cut through it all and made me freeze.

"Pah. He'll be dead soon, if not already." A sigh, "Morons aren't as fun to crush." I felt fabric brush against my ankles and the presence of someone, _Marik_, walking away.

Primal fear, anger and utter hatred mixed in the pit of my stomach and clouded everything, my thoughts, my actions and my speech. I roared and screamed unintelligibly and launched myself at the retreating form of Marik. A mistake, yes, but a glorious moment, if only for being able to capitalise on a few seconds of surprise. I leapt with my hands out, Marik turning slightly towards me at my yells, one hand, my left, buried itself into one stupid half of his fringe. Marik's arm came up holding the Millennium Rod and for a split-second I considered stopping before he had the chance to mind-control me. I kept the lunge going.

White-hot pain in my left hand.

I felt something boiling in the palm of my right hand and instantly made the connection, he'd sliced me with one of the 'wings' to the Rod. I felt cast-off on my face and reacted instinctively, yanking my left hand out of his hair, my right hugged close to my chest and rearing back in pain and shock. But then I heard the most delicious sound possible.

"You _GIRL_, will die _NOW_!" I was in utter agony by now, curling my right hand up carefully at my chest and noticed that tears were running rampant down my face, sadness and fear, but as I heard Marik hiss those words and felt a foreign texture in my left hand I felt myself smile, I _had_ won a little. Not a lot, probably not even noticeable unless you were looking for it, but enough to piss off a murderous psychopath who'd just had a small chunk of hair ripped out of his head by a girl three inches shorter than him and bleeding. He raised the Rod, no doubt to stab me, when I took several hurried steps backwards and bumped into someone, hissing with pain at the jolt it gave my hand. A voice from behind me.

"You've shown me everything I need to beat you, Marik." I knew the voice, but my mind wasn't working. I had just caught sight of the blood running down my hand...and the fact that the flesh was torn in a gruesome gash from left to right in my palm.

"S-Seto...my hand..." I was staring at the blood now, feeling faint with lack of blood and my eyesight blurred a little from tears. I felt a hand close around my left shoulder and heard a low whisper by my ear.

"Don't clench your hand so much. Staunch the blood with something." I was shocked by the 'not-harshness' of his voice.

"It _hurts_." I whispered back, sounding a little whiny but not caring.

"I think I could already guess that, Callaghan." Kaiba then shoved firmly me to one side, taking care not to jostle my hand and spoke loudly. "Go with Mokuba, Callaghan." It was an order, something that -at the current moment in time- helped clear my mind enough for me to stumble forwards towards the black haired kid.

I fainted on a doctor.

I _really_ regretted following Serenity.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: Short, yes. Packed, yes. Painful to write, yes. But hey, Sophie wasn't thinking right XD**

**~Ava**


	41. Chapter 41

-1**A/N: Shadow: I don't have half your brain…why would you think that…**

…

**SO MANY NEW PEOPLE I AM AMAZED AND FLATTERED, NOW START REVIEWING ¬_¬**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

It's always a little disconcerting to wake up in a bed that isn't your own, I had done so twice recently. The sight of a handsome, blue eyed blond is usually an excellent sedative, but not, I noticed, when he wearing bloody scrubs and checking the drip line that snakes it's way down to the back of your left hand.

Well, I wasn't _dead_.

Which was good.

I waited until the doctor left before I sat up. I glared down at my hand, feeling a little spacey. It was bandaged, a little dried blood round the palm area of the white, probably stitched underneath it and other than that, seemed fine.

Which _wasn't _fine.

I remembered the pain I felt earlier and compared it to how I was feeling now. Nothing, and coupling that with the spaceyness and the, just recently come-to-the-fore, light-headedness I realised that whatever was in the IV was a powerful painkiller.

"Methadone?" I thought aloud, looking out of the window next to the bed and noticing a slight slur over my 'th,' "No, that's for Heroine addicts…"

"Morphine."

"Yes! Morphin-" I had slurred slightly over the 'ph' too, but had stopped short of the whole word due to who it was that had materialised in the doorway. "Mokuba? Wh-" And then all the events of the past few hours came rushing back to me. I looked to the kid who had walked to the side of my bed for answers.

"Joey's…not waking up - but he's not dead -" The kid added quickly at the look on my face. "Mai isn't waking up, I'm gonna call an air ambulance for Joey and Teá's been hovering around your room every ten minutes." I stared at him for several seconds, this made the count of 'people who could get an annoyingly good read on me' bump up to four. Teá, _both_ Kaibas and Joey. I fixed my slightly blurring gaze onto the black-haired boy, who looked back at me intently.

"Thanks, Mokuba…." I hesitated on how to say what I was going to when Mokuba smiled at me.

"You want the IV out, don't you?"

"Urgh. You're as bad as your brother." I groaned, great, _another_ mind-reading Kaiba. Mokuba, however, appeared to take it as a compliment, holding himself straighter for a second.

"Nah, you're just easy to read." He laughed while busying himself by ripping out the infernal device from the back of my left hand while I stared at the bandages round my right. I had forgotten _something_ thanks to the Morphine-induced haze I was in. It wasn't too bad, back when I was in the hospital for a broken pelvis and fractured ribs, I had been given so much that I could barely formulate cohesive sentences.

"Well, that's probably because your doctors weren't as good as ours! Bro only hires the _best_ for a reason you know." My eyes bugged out of my head as I whipped round to look at Mokuba.

"Did I-Did I _say that out loud?"_

"Did you not mean to?" Mokuba looked over at me, now having moved back over to my right side. I sighed, concentrating on keeping my thoughts in my head. I was going to have to watch myself for the next few hours or so. I thought _a lot_ of incriminating things.

"Nope…" I focused on swinging my legs over the edge of the bed, keeping my right hand out of the way of my body completely. I wobbled a bit but otherwise was fine. "Huh. Your doctors _are_ rather good, I'll give you that." I stretched and looked down at Mokuba, "They struck a good enough balance on the dosage, I don't feel too bad…"

"You're going to wait until it wears off, right?" Mokuba said, phrased as a question, yes, spoken as an order however, that too. I glanced down to Mokuba who was looking at me seriously. It was odd, though the kid was cute as hell, he had somehow inherited his older brother's intense glare. I winced.

"I'll…go to see how Joey's doing…and then I'll…_see?_" My voice went up at the end and I briefly thought about how absolutely absurd it was for me to be seeking the permission to walk around from a twelve-year-old, but there was also the fact that he wasn't a normal twelve-year-old and I actually _listened _to him in the first place. He fixed me a stern look from his two-foot-shorter-than-me stance and I splayed my palms. Mokuba sighed at me.

"Bro wouldn't like it if I just let you stumble around unsupervised while _drugged_." He folded his arms at me as I pursed my lips and folded my own.

"Well," I flushed slightly at Mokuba's words, disliking my vague liking of the connotation behind those words, "Wh-" My question was cut off.

"Seto said that only a moron would try to move around after being given a strong analgesic." Mokuba appeared to bite back a laugh, I narrowed my eyes, guessing where this was going. "Then he told me to go check on you." I sighed in utter exasperation.

"I just can't win, can I?"

**~XxX~**

I had walked into Joey and Mai's hospital room and been greeted by my subdued friends. I noted that each hospital room had two beds and my mind instantly went to Odion, the man Marik was looking for. I supposed the other bed in the room I'd been in had been for him, but who had hidden him?

"What did the doctor say? About his condition I mean." I asked quietly. No-one's voice rose above 'quiet,' Serenity especially, spoke only with a whisper when she _did_ speak. Teá answered me.

"He's…" She glanced to Serenity, which gave me enough of an answer, he was bad enough that she didn't feel right saying his condition in front of his sister. I nodded, looking back to Joey and Serenity. It wasn't fair. That may have sounded immature, but it _wasn't_ fair that such a strong person could fall to such a cowardly bastard.

"The air ambulance should've been here by now." Duke mused, looking over his shoulder to the window behind him. I followed his look and stared out of the window. There was no sign of anything, but there was a weird surround on top of the duel tower. From where we were it looked like a coliseum. Odd.

"I'm sure Tristan and Mokuba are doing everything they can to get help. But…" Teá looked to me for a second and I nodded.

"I'll go check." I stood up from the edge of Joey's bed and walked out of the door without another word, part of me thankful to be leaving the emotional minefield behind for a while. I shivered as I wandered through the corridors over to the lift at the end of the hall. The floor was cold and since I had taken to holding my shoes in one hand so that I could walk barefoot and _not_ snap my neck if I stumbled, I really felt it.

Franticness greeted me once I'd gotten off the lift and entered the control-room.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: Sorry for the lateness, there's a number of reasons. Reason one: I went to see the Book Of The Dead at the British Museum, handy considering I'm planning to own the place one day. Two: I've been in writer's block (hence the shitty chapter) and Three: I've technically finished three other chapters, one of which I think you lot might like immensely. First kiss before Christmas anybody? XDDD**

**REVIEW, BETCHES. AND THE GIGOLOS TOO. I KNOW MALES READ THIS.**

**~Ava**


	42. Chapter 42

**A/N: Chapter 42. Sadly, this chapter does _not_ contain the Ultimate Question, for the Universe would implode if I did that. However, in honour of the greatest author to have ever lived, I'm listening to my radio recordings of The Hitchhiker's Guide and Dirk Gently.**

**Don't forget, you don't have to ask me what Sophie looks like anymore, just check my profile for her mock-up picture I used XD.**

**AND YES. The reason everything, is kinda, stunted. And or, weirdly said. Is because she's drugged. I originally had Sophie speaking in long sentences that melded into a single word, but hates that and deleted them. X_X**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

Light shot through the control room, turning everything off and on again in some kind of odd, power surge. What on earth could that have been? I looked over at the two people in front of me, Tristan and Mokuba.

"I don't know, but whatever it was, it got us through to HQ!" Mokuba said, not turning round from his station as he spoke. I paused, sure that I had thou-_aw shit_. It appeared that if I _concentrated_ then I would _think_. If I just _thought_ then I apparently _spoke_ too. Tristan turned to face me.

"Anything with Joey?" He asked as I concentrated on thinking of an answer.

"Not that I'm aware of…" I answered slowly and deliberately. It wasn't that I didn't _like_ Tristan, I just…well, never really took any time to know him and he still scared me. Though, I theorised, after Marik and his attack, he really _shouldn't_ seem scary anymore. Immediately after thinking this, my eyes darted to Tristan, like some kind of jumpy rabbit in the headlights. He hadn't heard me. I'd _actually_ thought it.

"Urgh. We've been trying to get through to HQ for the last half-hour, that power thing seems to have done the trick though…" He voice tailed off as Mokuba ripped off the headset and turned to us.

"It's on it's way!" At those words Tristan fled to get Joey ready for transfer. I blinked and he'd run. I looked over my shoulder at his hastily retreating form and felt the beginning of a headache. Numbed by Morphine or not, I'd always had a twenty-second sense for whenever I'd get a headache. Mokuba looked at me strangely.

"Twenty-Second? Don't you mean Sixth Sense?" I looked down at him.

"I'm not going to like this whole 'thinking out loud' thing, am I?" I frowned and whined at the same time. My god, did I sound like that all the time?

"No, not really." Mokuba answered, a similar smirk on his face to someone else I knew. I threw my good hand in the air, still holding my shoes.

"Answer to which question?"

"Both."

"Aw crap." I whined again, sensing a theme. "Oh, and…uhm…I forget, but there _was _a valid scientific reason behind it." I sighed. Mokuba turned back to the communications thing and switched a screen on.

"Well, now that we got the power back up, we can watch Bro's duel. Along with the rest of the city!" With that he hopped off the chair and paused in front of me. "You'll probably need to put your shoes on though…"

"Uhm." I hesitated for a moment, "Uhh, kid, I'm specifically _not wearing_ my shoes as per our compromise of 'Me Going To See Joey.' And…uhm…" I pressed my fingers to my head and then winced, realising that I'd used the cut hand to do so. "Ah yes!" I snapped the fingers of the cut hand and winced again, this was going to get annoying, "In case you haven't noticed, love, _I don't currently have a word filter._" I said the last sentence is my very best Jimmy Carr imitation, drawing a confused look from my shortest companion.

"Who?"

"…Ignore me."

"I can't, it's _really _interesting_. _It's like listening to someone's brain." Was his response. I glared at him, drawing a smile from him.

"Can't I just, stumble blindly back to my room or Joey's room and sleep this off?" I wheedled, feeling like I was trying to get out of being grounded. Mokuba shook his head.

"Nope, Seto said that I couldn't trust you to not walk into Marik again." Mokuba frowned, "Is your hand okay?"

"Hmm? Yeah, it's fine I suppose…" I answered absent-mindedly. Mokuba smirked at my look.

"Soph, you're blushing." He seemed to hold back a laugh. I gawped at him at him.

"Mokuba, you're annoying." I smirked this time. It was odd to have this kind of friendly banter with a member of the Kaiba household. Thankfully it seemed that I had kept that in my brain.

"Please?"

"Urgh. Why?"

"Because I have to keep an eye on you." I glared at his answer.

"Lemme guess '_It won't look good if someone dies in my tournament._' Hmm?" I sighed angrily, "Mai, Odion, Joey, you _really_ should be shadowing one of them." I frowned at what I just said on how I'd said it. "Also, I sound like a petulant child."

"I didn't notice anything different." Was the answer. I gasped and glared at him, noticing his smirk and screaming through clenched teeth.

"_GOD_. The two of you are going to be the very _death_ of me."

**~XxX~**

**A/N: Wow I hate this chapter. I've gained a new cat, a stray, and he's currently sleeping next to me on my bed. THE THINK IS BUILT LIKE A TANK. I SWEAR HE'S BIGGER THAN MY PILLOW. But he's a softie really~~**

**Also: LUCKY? GOOD GOD NO. SOPHIE IS NOT KISARA IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM. She only recognises the dragon due to the fact that it's Kaiba's motif and is bloody everywhere XDD**

**~Ava**


	43. Chapter 43

**A/N: Writing this right after the last chapter…**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

I had tentatively put my shoes back on and walked around a little. I stumbled and almost fell. This would be why I was currently using a small black-haired boy as a crutch.

"Why don't you snap the heels off again? Like you did when we were in Noah's world?"

"Well, even though I didn't know at the time, it still _was_ virtual." I answered as we boarded the elevator in the Duel Tower after a particularly treacherous walk for me. "If I did that again now, I'd _actually_ have to pay for them later." I explained.

"Oh yeah." Mokuba said, sounding teasingly less-than-impressed. "I forgot that you spent over £1000 on a pair of shoes." The look he shot me crushed any doubts I may have had about both him and Seto being brothers/ Again, my eyes darted to the kid, seeing if I'd said that out loud. Obviously not. I waved a hand and stumbled a bit as the elevator halted. We walked out and started climbing the short flight of stairs to the 'arena.'

"You wouldn't understand. You're not a female. You don't know what a good pair of heels does for your business image. At Christie's, image is everything." I laughed before stopping abruptly. Mokuba had just walked through a wall. In front of us was a brown brick wall, and Mokuba had just walked through it. I paused before following his lead, mentally shrugging.

"_Kaiba! Kaiba! Kaiba!"_

"Oh you are fucking kidding me./"

**~XxX~**

My lack of a word filter didn't seem to hinder my insult creativity, in fact, I think it rather enhanced it.

"I am _terribly_ sorry to crush your ego, but you are _not_ a God!" I yelled up at the person who's name was being chanted by…well, I'd say a little over two thousand virtual people. There was a pause as I actually noticed that both of my friends were rising from being knocked to the ground. I would have asked if they were okay had I not been astounded by the ego of one and been annoyed at the other for a reason I had yet to remember. Something…I was pissed at Yami because of something…

"Mind-Crushing!" I yelled triumphantly, "I am mad at you, Yami, because you inflicted horrible psychological damage!" There was a pause as both Duelists turned to look at me. I sensed annoyance and confusion…or maybe heartburn. I shrunk back a little, standing a tad behind Mokuba. I glanced shiftily away from my friends and cleared my throat uneasily. "Ahem…uhm…carry on…" Seto shot me a withering glance.

"Thank you, Callaghan, that's just what we were waiting for." Sarcasm practically dripped from his words as I glared back at him. Yami called to me before I could shoot back my own withering response.

"Sophie. Is Jo-"

"He's not dead." I called back, this seemed to strengthen Yami's resolve a tad as he rose to his feet. Seto followed shortly afterward. I glanced back to the side, something moving having caught my eye during this little, imposed, break from play until the Duelists weren't quite so disoriented. My eyes widened and I felt nauseous instantly. Marik. Marik was in the corner. Marik was in Yami's corner. I choked a little and yanked Mokuba over to the left a bit more, father away from him before following suit myself. I shuddered a little inwardly, my hands unsteady as I felt a psychosomatic twinge in my stitched hand at the sight of the person who'd sliced through it.

I didn't even take notice of the Duel.

**~XxX~**

I don't know how much time had passed, or what had been happening during the Duel, I only knew that I was glued to the spot and was staring at Marik the entire time. I kept getting the feeling he was going to go for my throat. I noticed when the Duel was swinging Yami's way because the perpetual crazy glint in Marik's eyes seemed to intensify as he drawled on about how much he was going to enjoy killing the Pharaoh. I could tell when it was swinging Seto's way because Marik then sneered about how much of a disappointment Yami was. But I never looked up at the Duel and Marik never looked over to me. I think I was glad of that, I don't think I would have been able to take it if he _had_ looked at me.

That was, at least, until Joey sauntered onto the top of the Duel Arena.

I really did choke then, turning it into a coughing fit before throwing myself at the blonde. with enough co-ordination for me to realise that the worst of the Morphine had worn off. Joey staggered back a bit at the force and unexpectedness of my hug, at which I let go just as quickly as I had leapt.

"Sorry," I winced, "But you're awake!" I winced again at how that sounded, "I mean, I'm not sorry you're awake, I'm happy you're awake, I'm sorry if I hurt you with the hug, I just thought you were in a coma and ohgod Marik is over there and I'm scared shitless so, yeah I'm happy all you guys are here now I kinda feel safer." I finished my sentence without breathing and glanced over to Mokuba. He smiled at Joey who returned the favour. Teá placed something on the ground before she grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look at her.

"Sophie." I nodded in response to my name, feeling once more like my good friend, rabbit-in-the-headlights, "Get a grip." Teá's bluntness struck a chord and I relaxed a little. She was right after all, I was descending into hysterics for nothing really. I paused for a second, still ignoring the Duel that was currently being cheered on by the others.

"I love you." I said sincerely, hugging Teá and for once actually feeling that smooshy, friendship-ness that seemed the norm for girls like her. But in my, still slightly, drug-addled state I realised something. Everyone, save for Marik, was someone I had grown to love, really. I hadn't known them that long, six or seven months at the most, but they had to have been the best mistake I'd made in a while. Of course, then Teá proffered to me one of two cups of coffee and I kissed her on the cheek, telling her I was willing to marry her and downing the life-giver in mere seconds.

I didn't look back to Marik for the rest of the Duel.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: Going through some shit. Possibly getting re-adopted. Slower updates maybe, whatever happens.**

**~Ava**


	44. Chapter 44

**~XxX~**

"Soph. I hate to break it to ya, but you're a human." Came the dry response from Joey after I had declared myself Switzerland in regards to the semi-final's contestants.

"Noooo. I think you'll find I'm Switzerland, that is to say, I'm a country in west central Europe. I've been neutral since 1515 and show _no_ signs of changing my mind when it comes to two of my _loveliest_ friends playing a card game against each other." I laid on my most sickeningly sweet voice for the word 'lovely.' I had, for the rest of the Duel, cheered on neither side, claiming neutrality. I had instead _heckled_ both sides. Heavily. Of course, when Yami won I offered a vague congratulations as he questioned me as to what I had meant by 'Psychological damage.' I told him that when my hand healed up I'd tell him and then slap him, something he took in good humour, in fact, it was a very amiable atmosphere on our side of the Duel Arena. On the other side however, Mokuba was on his knees and Seto seemed to be having an existential crisis. I hesitated before stumbling towards them. Not of my own volition, however, Teá had shoved me in the back. Hard. I caught myself before I could fall flat on my face and glared over my shoulder at her. She shrugged and smiled at me before I stalked back to our group, hissing my words lowly so that the others couldn't hear me over Joey's posturing for his Red-Eyes. What followed was a string of lightning-quick replies in the same tone, I had a feeling that any passers-by that _hadn't _been listening to Joey would have thought there were two demented snakes in the Duel Arena.

"_I'm not going over there, Teá."_

"_Why?"_

"_Why do you think? I feel like I've been ignoring my friends for a guy I may or may not like who I generally want to smack."_

"_Oh well woe is us. We simply couldn't get along without our pillar of misanthropy."_

"…_Wow. Sarcasm. _That's _original."_

"_Look, Sophie. I love you, but I want to smack you sometimes too."_

"_Thanks, hun. Love you too."_

"_Look, you're the first person _I've_ seen that has been able to get a halfway decent response out of him, and if it can make him less of a shallow, self-centred, acerbic ass. I'm all for it."_

"_Well, that's just great. It's a shame he's an insensitive unfeeling prick with no respect for others, and that he never stops scowling or being rude even to you, and you're not even his 'arch-rival.' He's cold-hearted and rude and self obsessed and makes you think he's finally going to open up and then he throws it all back in your face and makes you feel like crap. He brings out the worst in people because he's just a grumpy, unwashed, disgusting bastard of a man who can't start a committed _friend_ship let alone relationship and-"_

"_So you like him then?"_

"_...Shut up."_

"_Look, I know you don't place much value on Duel Monsters, I didn't think much of it in the beginning too, but after Pegasus, and the Pharaoh…I don't know anymore. I just know that there are some things that have a lot of value placed on them by other people, even if it seems stupid to me."_

"…_Fine. _Fine. _I'll go. Yeesh…"_

"_I know. I'm very good at this sort of thing."_

"_What sort of thing? Manipulating my feelings to suit your own purposes? I hope you're getting this bitch-stare."_

"_Oh yes, it's very threatening."_

"_Good."_

"_But no. I just poked you into saying what you were already thinking."_

**~XxX~**

"You. Up." I pointed to Mokuba, "Please?" I amended, reminding myself that my curtness was directed only to his brother and not to him. The black-haired boy looked up at me from his dejected position.

"Seto l-_lost_. It can't be _true_." The way in which he'd said it made me almost feel sorry for Seto before I reminded myself of the very quiet, internal reason that I had been rooting for his loss that I would never _ever_ verbalise. I held out my hand to help Mokuba up, he took it without looking away from his brother. I sighed.

"Look, I...I know that the game means a lot to the two of you, hell, to everyone on this island, but it's not like it's the end of the world."

Apparently I couldn't have said something worse if I'd suggested making bunting out of cat entrails for some kind of 'Ha Ha You Lost' party. This was evidenced by Seto glaring daggers at me over his shoulder as Yami approached him.

"That was the most challenging duel I've ever had, Kaiba." Yami said, sounding as respectful as you could imagine from a 3000-year-old Pharaoh. Unfortunately it wasn't received as well as it would have if Yami had said it to anyone _other_ than who it actually _was_ said to.

"Don't patronise me, Yugi." Seto spat back. I mentally sighed in utter exasperation as I looked over to Teá, her face buried in her hands. _Honestly_.

"I'm not patronising you, Kaiba." Yami said, sounding infinitely patient, "If I hadn't had Joey's Red Eyes, I would have lost." Yami removed the card from his Duel Disk, holding it up to Kaiba as the latter scoffed at him.

"That one card can only do so much, Yugi." He snarled at my eccentrically-haired friend,

"You're right, Kaiba. It's what the card is and what it means that led to me winning our duel." He turned over his should to look at Joey, as Téa re-surfaced from her hands. "Red Eyes Black Dragon is Joey's card and I know that when I duel with it, I am never alone in my duels." I smiled slightly, that level of friendship was actually rather touching and, not for the first time, I was happy I wasn't my thirteen-year-old self. Seto snorted derisively, this seeming to have, rather than _touched_ a nerve; yanked it out and hooked it up to a car battery.

"Not alone? Listen to yourself, Yugi! We are _all_ alone! I've never had to ask for help or receive it, and _I _know that victory means nothing if you didn't grab it with your _own _hands." Barely restrained anger, it appeared, was what happened when you tried to talk to Seto about common human interactions. "Friends? I would never have _anyone_ to slow me down. I've never needed help from anyone else _or_ had a need for frie-_What the HELL, Callaghan?"_

"What, _Seto_? I always throw shoes at _bloody morons_." I sniffed after spitting out the last two words, "It's my _thing_." I had no _real_ excuse for removing a shoe and throwing it so hard at him it rebounded off his shoulder, but it was better than the alternative of throwing Mokuba at him instead. I didn't even break eye-contact with Seto, but I could _feel_ the waves of repressed laughter rolling off both Joey and Teá. He rounded on me as I let go of my death-grip on Mokuba's shoulder and took a step forwards.

"I don't care if you're offended, Callaghan. I've made it _very_ clear in the past that you are _not_ my friend." He partially snarled the words at me as I laughed scornfully, taking a few steps forward again to conceal my small amount of hurt at his words.

"Oh I'm _sooo_ glad you feel that I hold you in such high regard. But _no_, that's not why I did it. I did it because you really _are_ a fucking moron." I ploughed on before he had a chance to speak, "Alone? _Really? _Then I suppose that he's just a figment of your demented imagination?" I gestured wildly behind me at Mokuba. I was glad I couldn't see the kid's face, I was basically using him as an argument against his beloved older brother. Seto made a noise like a punched bear before turning away from me sharply and gesturing to Mokuba to follow him, which he did. I narrowed my eyes at his back before glancing over to a smirking Teá and rolling my eyes exaggeratedly.

Of course, then I realised that the jerk had taken my other shoe with him.

**~XxX~**


	45. Chapter 45

**A/N: I'm writing this chapter as I reign in the new year, that means I've been writing this fic for QUITE a while now, doesn't it? Well, here's hoping you fools stick around here, especially for some twists I have planned for the KC Grand Prix arc. ALSO. Go read the companion-fic to this one! I just put it up on my profile, it's called "Who Is?" It would be very appreciated if you could read that, as it links in with everything here. Also, it reveals a few more things about my characterisations of each character, starting with Sophie, Seto, Teá and Yugi.**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

I snarled at the retreating back of Seto. He'd taken my bloody shoe. My _shoe_. I would now have to walk all the way around this god-forsaken island in _barefeet_. Just because I threw it at him didn't give him permission to take it. I was going to kill him at the next chance I got.

For the moment, I merely kept a calm façade, removed my other shoe and dangled it from my uninjured hand, breezing past my friends and trotting smartly over to the elevator before it could close, prancing barefooted into it just before it did so.

"Delightful." I simpered, deliberately being my most girly. This apparently irked one of my lift-mates, who glared at me as though he was trying to condemn me to Hell. I wouldn't have put it past him to be thinking that, however.

"Callaghan." Seto spat at me as I carefully ignored him in favour of Mokuba.

"Hey kid." I greeted him easily, in my normal tone of voice and act. I gestured to the red button on the side of the elevator. "What's that one for?" Mokuba seemed vaguely torn between whether or not I was attempting to undermine his older brother, or genuinely curious.

"It goes into the hangar." He answered carefully, "Why?"

"Well, what can I say?" I shrugged and laughed in a high-pitched manner that disgusted even me, "I see a big red button and just _have_ to know!" I fixed my stare on Seto, who was also carefully ignoring me. "What about you, Seto?" I said as I batted my lashes at him coyly, "You seem to know _exactly_ what buttons to press." I finished my sentence in an utter deadpan that I felt far more comfortable in. The brother in question glared at me.

"I am _not_ your friend, Callaghan. _Stop_ deluding yourself." He hissed at me, apparently still angry about his defeat. I pulled a face to Mokuba and shrugged.

"I think you're too against it for that to be true, Seto." I said, looking down at my nails on my bandaged hand and leaning against the railing as the elevator descended. An exasperated sound from in front of me.

"Callaghan, just because I decry something so _fundamentally_ incorrect as your false belief of friendship, does _not_ make us friends either." He shook his head as he spoke, the lift doors opening as we hit the ground level. "Sometimes I wonder if you understand the world, or whether it's just colours, shapes and the odd noise in your head."

"Mmm." I nodded, deliberately ignoring the jibe, "I'm glad you lost, Seto." I said, fully sincere rather than taunting for once and glad that Mokuba had already left the lift to catch up with the other lift door opening and spewing out my friends. I looked up, expecting another death-glare, but was surprised to see him just glance at me wearily.

"I have no doubt you'll regale me with tales of my inadequacy." He stated dryly as I snickered.

"Not at all, but that's for another time. No, I'm unfortunately glad it's not _you_ up to losing his soul. I love Yugi and Yami, but…" I bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself from blushing slightly as I let the end of that sentence hang. There was an awkward silence as so often was the case whenever one of us acted vaguely normal to the other. He turned away from me as he too left.

"Acquaintance."

"Dingbat." I answered lightning-quick to a mildly amused look, "I want my shoe back."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Callaghan."

I narrowed my eyes at him as the doors closed. He'd smirked as he'd said that, it was so _obviously _a lie. The elevator rose again and I stayed on the lift. I needed to stay on the Duel Tower after all. It was the only place where there wasn't a chance of me getting stones in my feet.

**~XxX~**

From my perch on the very top of the Duel Tower I could see an awful lot, though not with too much detail. I could certainly recognise different people and the fact that two of them were Dueling. Even without their trademarks, for instance; I could tell Joey due to his specific kind of laziness. It was a sort of…bundle of frenetic energy wrapped in a languid exterior, something which was mirrored in the way he drew cards and set them down. I shifted my weight to see past the ledge a little more. Aaand, even without the gravity-defying trench coat I would have recognised Seto. Arrogant dexterity in every move signalling that he felt perfectly secure in his probable win. Mokuba shortly behind him, obviously supportive of his brother in every move he made. _Prophetic_. I mused, considering this attitude seemed to spill over into everything anyway. I moved my gaze again, you could tell a lot about a person from the way they Dueled it seemed. Yami, standing with another prideful posture, fists by his sides. I could recognise him from half a mile away, hair or no. Tristan and Duke, leaning forwards and brandishing fists to no doubt punctuate some kind of clichéd but endearing and ultimately buoying cheer-on. Teá, standing stiffly. I frowned in my inner monologue. That _wasn't_ like her. Teá was a dancer, it showed in her every move and the way she usually held herself. Head high, back straight, arms slightly curved as though she was about to pirouette her way out of danger at any moment. This seemed like she was standing in a more boyish, awkward way, with her back stiff and straight, her arms hanging limply by her sides and her head swivelled round before the rest of her body as she walked away.

Like a puppet on it's strings.

I recognised that manner of walking, it haunted me slightly, the day she'd been 'possessed' by Marik as part of his Jigsaw-worthy plot to kill Yugi and Yami the first time round. I rushed round the railings of the Tower so I could follow her progress with my eyes. If I could see her, I'd bet my left arm that her pupils had vanished. My cut hand twinged at the thought, _Fucker._ I thought venomously. He'd taken over my best-friend again. How _dare_ he. I watched Teá with baited breath, unable to do anything, after all, even if I _had_ both my shoes, the most I could do would be to follow her on the ground and hope that Marik didn't order her to kill me. I wouldn't put it past him to try something like that. She came to a halt in front of the beige-clothed woman that Seto had Dueled once, on the blimp. I-something…Icarus? Well, even if it wasn't, she should be careful about getting too close to a possessed Teá, who knew what Marik wanted to do to her. More than melt her wings, that's for sure, though it would still probably end up in the same way…

I shook my head clear of the analogy after it took a turn for more morbid waters. Teá had a _very_ strong spirit, I knew that. I doubted that she'd be able to kill anyone, even being forced by someone with a Millennium Item. It was so very against her fundamentals. Speaking of Items, I couldn't quite tell from the distance I was currently at, but didn't Cleo (that was what I'd called her the first time, wasn't it?) have the Necklace or something? The thing that was supposed to see into the future? I remember Teá mentioning something about what she'd said after one time I wandered off to sleep somewhere. I snorted as I watched the two of them talk for a few minutes, it obviously wasn't very good at predicting things if she lost her Duel and then ran into a possessed Teá. But I couldn't see the Necklace from here. Not even a glint, which was odd considering she was standing in full sunlight beside the blimp. I was practically blinded from the gold on her arms, veil and belt, the Necklace should have been adding to that, shouldn't it?

I was cut short from my inner sleuthing by Teá exclaiming something so loudly that I could hear her voice from all the way up top. Her voice, but not her words, which would have been nice to hear considering she was now running towards the Duel Tower with Cleo stretching a hand out to stop her.

"I need to know what happened here." A painfully familiar voice sounded from scarily nearby. Marik. The mad one.

My bandaged hand spasmed in sympathy.

**~XxX~**


	46. Chapter 46

**A/N: Vah, I go back to college on Thursday, so I'll try to write as much as possible between then and now.**

**Remember to go and check out "Who Is?" Via my profile! Try it, you might like it. ¬_¬**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

I turned, very carefully, on the balls of my feet. Marik hadn't seen me, impossibly I was partially hidden behind one of the 3D projectors. I took a deep breath and held it, as though he could hear me breathing form two feet away. I tensed up considerably, knowing that one small movement could give me away, and in turn, my life. I leant slightly into the 3D projector to afford myself less visibility from Marik's point of view and listen to his mutterings.

"-The Millennium Rod showed the Pharaoh and Kaiba something about the past when the two Egyptian Gods clashed-" He seemed irate, well, more irate than usual, and I frowned. Mokuba and I must have missed _that_. I controlled my breathing some more as he continued chunnering to himself and attempting to get the Rod to show him what it had shown my two friends earlier. Had I not been in such dire straits I would have laughed at how angry he was getting. Apparently the Rod liked him about as much as I did.

Of course, that was when I saw Teá walk calmly onto the Duel Arena and stoop to pick up the Item that Marik had just flung away.

_No, not Teá._ I chastised myself, _Marik in Teá's mind…The other Marik…_

"You should be more careful with this." She said, her voice bringing back memories of crates and anchors as it was dually toned with both her's and Marik's voices. The evil Marik glared at her as she held it crossed across her chest like a Pharaoh from a sarcophagus. He leant back a little, sizing her up and obviously not noticing that his other half was inside her mind.

"Hand that over, girl." He said, advancing on Teá threateningly as I glanced around for something I could use to help her/him. Of course, I needn't of bothered, the mind of Marik was obviously no idiot and the eye on the front of the Rod glowed brightly before pulsing and sending the mental Marik flying backwards. I nearly cheered from my hiding place. The other Marik clambered to his feet, eyes fixed solely on Teá. "What's going on? No-one is able to use the Millennium Rod but me!" His voice betrayed a tinge of disconcertedness in the face of something he didn't understand. Teá looked over to him coolly, her pupiless eyes focused on Marik. The Millennium Rod flashed again and the other Marik cottoned on. Teá brandished the Millennium Rod outwards, backing the other Marik into the railings. "So you left a piece of your mind inside this girl? How pitiful." He spat at the sane part of Marik that lived inside my best-friend's head.

"That's right." S/he said, the voices giving me the conflicting emotions of wanting to kill Marik but without hurting Teá, "And it's my responsibility to stop you." The Teá puppet spoke, derailing my train of thought so vastly it ploughed into a river and caught fire, killing all other thoughts I had in the process_. _Did Marik have some kind of _sudden emotional epiphany? _What in the name of the Nine Hells of Baator brought _that _on?

"You're forgetting something, Marik." The other him said, snickering dangerously, "This is_ your_ body too. If I die, you have nowhere to go." The words would have sounded like bargaining if they'd come from anyone even remotely scared for their life, but not from the madman who was currently being threatened. Unfortunately it did the job, Marik reached out and grabbed Teá's wrist, wrenching the Rod from her grasp and flinging her against the railings, the roles reversed. The other Marik brandished the Item now and backed her up to the railings, intent on pushing her over.

Ever since I met my friends, I've realised something. I'm _horrifyingly_ unpredictable to myself.

I preformed a move that was dangerously close to becoming trademarked with me, throwing my other shoe, the only shoe I had left, at the back of Marik's head.

_Aw crap_. My brain whined as he turned to face me, I guessed he wasn't thinking happy thoughts. Capitalising on the moment of silence and surprise Teá turned slightly, double arm vaulting the railing to launch herself over the top of Marik _and_ his hair before landing neatly on my side. _That_ was the grace I attributed to my best-friend. He snarled at Teá.

"You're just prolonging your demise, Marik." His eyes flicked to me and he smiled, the kind of smile that made me think he was imagining my guts as tinsel on a tree, "I could kill you,_ girl._ but your pathetic attempts at fighting me are much more amusing." He licked the wing of the Millennium Rod that had sliced my hand to taunt me, "And that's not a compliment that I use lightly." I stared at him, frozen and bug-eyed like a rabbit in the headlights after my brief spurt of action and bravery. He raised the glowing Rod and sent the two of us flying backwards, I hit the 3D projector I'd been hiding behind, knocking the air from my lungs, and the Teá/Marik landed a little away from me. Marik closed the gap between the two of them and charged the Rod for another blast of light. "It's time to end this little game." He flicked a momentary look over his shoulder at me, "And then I'll start with _you_." My mind was still frozen in the '_Aw crap_' mentality as a light purged what I imagined to be the sane half of Marik from Teá. I would have been grateful had the sane half not been on my side. Teá collapsed fully against the floor, eyes closed. I would have made a move to scramble to her side, _should _have, but I was very busy focusing on the fact that the mad-haired madman was now moving towards me.

"You've been trying your luck here, girl." He said, that perpetual crazy glint seeming to flare up with glee as he turned away from the unconscious body of Teá to face me, as I rose to my feet carefully, "Dancing on thin ice with fire in your hands. But you see this?" He raised the Millennium Rod and my bandaged hand twinged at the memory. "This is going to slice _off_ your hand this time, and the fire you're holding will melt the ice, and you'll be left in the middle of a frozen lake to drown." I shuddered at the imagery, I thought this Marik was supposed to be completely irrational and barbaric? It turned out he had moments of lucidity after all, though I wasn't quite sure I preferred them. I took a deep breath and decided to stall for time. Groping behind me as I backed away so that I was edging round the 3D projector I'd slammed against, if I could just reach the stairwell…

"You don't scare me." My voice and words at odds with my body language and feelings. Evil Marik laughed and his face stretched outwards insanely.

"How unfortunate." He fixed that glare on me again and I felt a shiver of pure fear run down my spine like ice water, Teá wasn't moving, she was on the ground…_dead_? No, she couldn't be. But this made it two of my closest friends that this bastard had rendered unconscious now. "You _should_ be scared. I'm a creature born of my weaker half's hatred with my only purpose being to cause death and suffering. I can read your mind like a script if I want. And now that all the other characters are close to taking their bows and exiting the stage," He advanced on me with the sharp wing of the Millennium Rod outstretched enough to press against the skin of my neck, not breaking it, not yet. "How about an encore presentation where I teach the audience why their children are afraid of the dark?"

_Fucking hell, he's deranged. His sanity scares me more than his insanity. Ohgod I really don't want to die right now…_

Apparently someone heard my silent pleading.

"Stop this at once." A calm and collected female voice sounded from the stairwell next to where I was currently standing on my tippy-toes, trying not to be garrotted by the Item at my neck. _Cleo!_ I thought exultantly. Could she possibly help? At all? In any way? Please?

"Sister?" Was the confused and angry reply from the man currently picometres away from killing me. His eyes narrowed as I tried very hard not to breathe and jostle the blade at my neck, my eyes darting from one tan-skinned person to the other. "You stay out of this, Ishizu!" The part of my brain that wasn't noticing that there were little black dots dancing on the periphery of my vision indicating that if I did breathe in soon I'd faint due to lack of oxygen, _that_ part of the brain that wasn't noticing _any_ of that committed the name to memory. Fortunately, Marik seemed to consider her more of a threat - judging by how weak I felt at the moment, he was right - as he swung the Rod round to face Ishizu. I fell to all fours, spluttering, coughing and whooping in deep breaths. I clutched my uninjured hand to my throat as I did so, thankful I could still do so. Well, until I felt the warm stickiness that came hand in hand with a coppery smell. I looked down, ignoring whatever it was that was transpiring between the two apparent siblings, I sighed in relief. It was just a very, _very_ shallow cut running from the right of my décolleté to my left armpit when Marik had whirled away from me to point the Item at Ishizu. _You know It's bad when you're thankful you just got 'slightly sliced' rather than 'killed' isn't it?_ My subconscious snarked at me, I rocked back onto my heels while sitting, wiping the blood that was there away from the cut so it could breathe and scab over quicker. Fortunately that kind of cut would stop bleeding almost immediately. As I started to wipe the blood on my hands on my trousers and blouse I glanced over at what I had missed.

Not for the first time I wondered if I really _was_ too self-absorbed.

Of course, then I rationalised that I had had other things to be thinking about and couldn't have possibly noticed that the sky around the Duel tower had blackened, shadows were slowly swirling round said tower and Yami was facing down Marik as two separate eye of Wdjats' glowed on their foreheads.

I was really bad at rationalising.

I took advantage of the fact that no-one was trying to kill me personally at this moment in time to crawl over to where Teá and Ishizu were. Teá lying unconscious still and Ishizu cradling her head so that she didn't have an obstruction in her airway. The Ishizu woman looked at my face as I looked at Teá and checked her pulse, wincing at just how much blood I _hadn't_ got off my hand yet.

"She's got a pulse." I concluded, smiling as I looked up to face Ishizu, my smile faltering slightly as I noticed the intensity with which she stared into my eyes. I shuffled a little on my knees. "Uhm-"

"You know who I am just as I know who you are, Sophie McCallaghan." She said calmly, gently resting Teá's head on the ground as she spoke. I felt a clutch of panic before I realised that it wasn't that hard to put together my name if you listened to one conversation between Seto and myself it would have been clear what my last name was and my first name was what everyone else used. But…she knew the 'Mc' bit…Seto only called me Callaghan' because the 'Mc' was just a syllable that everyone dropped, hell, I barely wrote 'Mc' on any paperwork…

"Very nice, Ishizu Ishtar "I answered, wiggling my fingers but feeling a little creeped out even as I repeated the favour. She nodded and seemed about to say something else when Marik spoke again and the shadows around us dissipated smoothly. My head snapped up to look at him, in case he was coming back for me or Teá. Though I regret that I was more worried for me. I needn't have been as he walked past Yami, brushing shoulders and saying something too quiet for the three of us on the floor to hear. However when he headed for the stairs he spoke loudly, enough for us to get the gist of what he had just said.

"I look forward to killing you in the future, Pharaoh." His cape billowed out dramatically behind him as he swooped off down the stairs. "And your friends." I felt nauseous at that, enough to contemplate whether or not I was about to throw up. Yami crouched in between Ishizu and I to check on Teá.

"She's alive." I started, wanting to feel at least a little useful for more than distracting a madman for long enough so that his Sister could show up and distract him from me for long enough for Yami to show us and save the day. Ishizu nodded her agreement.

"She will be fine," I sensed a 'but' in her next sentence as she turned to face Yami and in turn, me. She closed her eyes before speaking, probably to gather what she was going to say next. "I have a favour to ask of you, Pharaoh. A selfish one." Yami cocked his head to signal that she should continue. "Save my brother." A sharp intake of breath from Yami as she hastily explained her request. "His good side still lives!-"

"-I know-" Yami cut across her as she in turn cut back across him.

"But he lives in Teá's mind! Soon, he could be gone forever!" She seemed genuinely distressed and I wondered just _how_ Marik became such a detached megalomaniac with that kind of familial support behind him. A brother that carved into his _own face_ and a sister who seemed constantly worried for him seemed to wildly over-balance the insanely abusive Father, or at the very least, soften the blow. Of all the people I knew the backgrounds of…in all honesty, it was a miracle that Seto hadn't become that emotionally retarded, he only had a brother.

How did I somehow turn my wonder at Marik's idiocy round to think about _him_?

"So Marik's good side _does_ still exist…" Yami mused, standing as Ishizu did. She nodded.

"Yes, and he came here to confront his Dark Side using Teá's body." Ishizu said as I stayed knelt at my friend's side. I gripped her hand tightly and looked up at the two of them, expecting at least a little backlash from Yami, who just looked a tad uneasy before replying that he would try to help him. I scoffed at him, pissed off at his lack of indignation.

"Oh, and I suppose that's _perfectly_ fine? Huh?" I snarked at both of them as they glanced down at me, I squeezed Teá's hand a little tighter as I gestured with the bandaged hand. "That pillock that you call a brother can _take over the mind of my best-friend_, he can _take away her free-will_ and you just go 'Ho-hum, he did it for '_good!'"_ I simpered that last word before curling my lip in a sneer of utter contempt. "Lovely. Some friend _you_ are." I directed my last insult at Yami, mind clicking to why else I was pissed at him.

"Sophie, what do you me-"

"Shut up." I said, looking back at Teá and thinking about how she'd probably whap me over the back of the head when she woke up for speaking like this to Yami. "I know what you did to Seto before. You know, the thing that made him build Death-T?" I heard the sharp intake of breath when I said the word.

"How did you find out about DT?" He asked calmly as Ishizu seemed to be watching with interest. I turned my head a little over my shoulder but still didn't look at him.

"Virtual World. It's a long story but I found a file." I sighed wearily and looked up at him, not flamingly angry anymore due to being burned up energy-wise. "Sensation of Death? Really? That seems so…" I searched for the word but Yami cut to the chase before me.

"Barbaric?" He finished for me and shook his head from side to side as though clearing it of the memory. "I…have changed since then…we all have…Yugi, helped me to see what I did then was wrong…" His voice tailed off before he realised something. "That was the 'Psychological Damage' wasn't it? That you were going to hit me for?" I barked a laugh and looked back to Teá.

"Maybe later…" Another sigh from me as I felt my mood swing back towards 'weary'. _Fucking period…_' If I could just maintain a mood for longer than a few minutes today, I'd be ecstatic…and then probably pissed off.

Yami nodded to me with a slight smile at my words before turning back to Ishizu, who had continued watching us with mild interest.

"I'll save the world from Marik, and I'll save Marik's Good Side too."

_Melodramatic much?_ I thought before scolding myself for the slight. I was snapped out of my thoughts by Teá moving and waking up.

"Teá!" Yami's voice showing he was vastly relieved that she'd woken up. She looked up at him blearily.

"Wh-What happened?" She asked, swaying a little as she sat up. Yami made to answer before she caught sight of me and gasped, clamping a hand to her mouth as she stared at me. "Sophie? Are yo-What?" She reached to me before noticing that her other hand was in mine. She let out a breath as I frowned, confused by her reaction.

"Are you okay?" I asked, genuinely concerned for her health before her eyes rolled and I realised that she was perfectly fine and back to her normal self as she poked my shoulder gently. The one that had been cut. "Hey!" I exclaimed, whapping her hand away from said shoulder before it hurt too much, I glanced down, "Ohhh…"

I looked like victim in a vampire movie. Blood drying on the collar and shoulder of my shoulder-shredded blouse and covering the top half of my chest and probably my neck too in a weird manner that made it look like I'd been scrabbling at the wound. I bit my lip, before saying the clichéd but true words. "It's _really_ not as bad as it looks…"

**~XxX~**

**A/N: Did I mention I was going to start writing longer chapters? No? Oh, well, I'm going to start writing longer chapters.**

**YOU KNOW THE DRILL PEOPLE. ¬_¬**

**I love you really. ¬_¬**

**~Ava**


	47. Chapter 47

**~XxX~**

Yami helped Teá up as I rose of my own accord, glancing around for the fourth member that had been on the roof with us. I just caught sight of the edge of a disappearing beige skirt and cloak. I looked around again, this time for something slightly more important than Ishizu before spotting it in the centre of the Duel Arena. My shoe. My weapon. For some reason, I was now using shoes as weapons. _Well, you can't say it didn't work._ My brain rationalised with me as I shrugged my indifferent agreement. I thought for a second after picking it up and decided to run after Ishizu. Just _how_ did she know the 'Mc' part of my last name? I glanced behind me as I jogged down the stairwell, seeing that my two friends would certainly be perfectly fine without me there. I had just missed her elevator, but not to be deterred, caught the next one and punched the button for the ground floor. Several seconds later and I was running out into the metal ground floor of the Tower and called her name as she neared the exit. Ishizu stopped and turned to look at me expectantly as I caught up to her.

"You knew, my last, name…fully." I said, regaining my breath was punctuating my sentences like commas. She paused before walking again, obviously meaning for me to follow, which I did…hesitantly and on my toes, like a ballerina attempting to get everywhere via pointé. At the very least, I wouldn't get _large_ rocks in my feet.

"In the same way I knew you'd follow me." She said, sounding fairly normal now that Yami had promised to release her brother. She seemed almost _nice_. I hopped over a twisted metal hunk left over from the previous KaibaCorp endeavour that was here.

"Magic?" I asked sarcastically, feeling put in my place when she replied without turning round.

"Of a sort, yes. My Tauk let me see most things, if not all. I knew your full name by looking at you." She stopped in front of me as I preformed an odd sort of skip-hop-twirl to navigate some particularly hazardous gravel, glass and rusty springs. It was only when I looked up that I realised she'd stopped in front of the anchored blimp and had her hands clasped neatly in front of her. I stood a little to her left and faced her.

"Tauk?"

"Necklace." She offered helpfully as I nodded. I sighed and leant gingerly against a massive boulder across from her, making sure that it was indeed secure and not going to roll away from me. I surveyed the land around us and came to the conclusion that Alcatraz looked like some kind of horrifying dystopian-future city. There was an easy silence for a few minutes before my brain caught up with what she'd said before.

"You knew I'd follow you?" I asked, shocked slightly. She nodded and answered in a vaguely amiable manner.

"Of course. I may not have the Tauk anymore, but I have always been perceptive of events and people." She looked away from me and towards the Duel Tower, "That is why it chose me, I imagine." I frowned at her words and looked the opposite way, at the ocean.

"Did your's come with a-a-"

"A spirit?" She concluded, looking back to me at the same time as I looked to her. I paused for a second before nodding. She shook her head and a smile twitched her mouth. "No. I am pleased to say that not all of the Millennium Items house a separate consciousness." I nodded slowly in understanding before my brow creased again.

"But…you speak of them like they're sentient." I said, she _had_ said that it had _chosen_ her. Ishizu seemed to think for a moment about how she should respond.

"They are…in a way. They're not _fully_ sentient, but they have a purpose to fulfil. They use their own means to get closer to their goal."

"Which is?"

"…You have a more of a part in the proceedings than my brother believes." She neatly side-stepped my question with a baffling statement.

"WH-" I choked on my words before composing myself, "What on _Earth_ was that supposed to mean?" Ishizu paused again.

"…My brother believes you to be inconsequential, just as he believes Teá to be useless, Serenity to be a nothing and Mokuba to be a futile waste of time. Mai was the only one he happened to strike down." She paused and looked back to the Duel Tower. "But the reality is that the four of you are possibly the most influential people here."

"Uhh…" I was silenced from nearly choking on my lung by her continuing.

"You're not Duelists, nor are you fighters in any physical capacity, you are not accepted nor favoured by any Millennium Items, but he doesn't see the four of you are powerful enough to sway or distract the minds of his enemies in a crucial moment." She sighed, "It is good, in a way, that Marik was never any good at understanding emotions. If he did, he would have taken the four of you for bargaining already."

My mind clicked onto what she was saying.

Teá, Yugi's first friend ever and only an emotionally _blind_ person wouldn't be able to see that Yugi had a crush on her.

Serenity, very obviously Joey's sister, no explanation needed there along with the fact that she was watching over Mai, a person that Joey seemed to only be coming to terms with his affection for her because the rest of us were telling him that he was an idiot for not seeing it himself.

Mokuba, enough people had gone down _that_ route already, including Marik himself, but only the _sane_ one. I doubted the mental one really understood the dedication there.

Me.

I blushed deeply and decided not to deconstruct _that_ one, rationalising once more that _she_ knew because _she_ had a magic necklace, it was still a half nice thought though…

"It's nice to know that we'd make lovely Damsels in Distress." I said sarcastically, feeling a little put-out by the fact that Ishizu seemed to see us as just the extras. She chuckled softly at my chunnering and continued to look towards the Duel Tower.

"I didn't say that you didn't do other things." She reminded me, "If anything, the fact that Marik's mind is able to reside in Teá's without causing her terrible mental damage and your anger in the face of your friend's jeopardy is proof that that isn't _all_ the four of you do." She looked at me and obviously saw my blush. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about, Odion is the same for the good side of Marik."

"Hmn." I grunted, holding up a foot and flicking some gravel off the sole of it. I resisted the urge to scratch at the cut on my chest, knowing that the fact that it was itching was because it was meshing over. I looked down at my poor blouse, noting that the material was stronger than I'd thought if it hadn't been completely shredded by the Millennium Rod. Instead there was a neatly-edged rip that followed the line of the cut easily. I pulled the edges away from my chest, wincing as some of the dried blood that had stiffened the fabric came away with it. Ishizu shifted her position and spoke, looking behind the boulder I was leaning against to something that interested her.

"My cue…" She said, tailing off as I heard footsteps getting closer.

"What do _you_ want, Ishizu?" A sharp and familiar voice from just behind my leaning spot.

"I'd advise you to be present for the next duel, Seto." She answered, deftly squashing his rudeness in a manner that made me snort. Mokuba looked round from his place at his brother's side to face me. And the gasp a little.

"Sophie!" He seemed genuinely concerned and not for the first time I remembered that he was the antithesis of his older brother, "Are you-" I held up the unbandaged hand to stall him.

"-Perfectly fine apart from all the blood." I concluded and laughed a little knowingly, "If I wasn't, I wouldn't be here." I glanced at Seto, who had turned to face me at the word 'blood.' "Of course, I'd be even better if I had my shoes." Another dry look directed at him, "Maybe I wouldn't have so much dust and gravel in my feet."

"If you're perfectly fine, why is your hand covered in blood, Callaghan?" Seto asked dourly, looking highly unimpressed. I looked at the hand I'd held up to stall Mokuba. Yeah, I still hadn't gotten all the blood off onto my blouse. "And why do you look like you were attacked?" Yep. He _really_ wasn't impressed. I shrugged.

"Well…because I _was_. But it's nothing. Honestly, I'm not just saying that, it's already healing." I sighed and looked towards the Duel tower. "He buggered off anyway." An exasperated sigh from the taller of the two in front of me as Mokuba folded his arms to look uncannily like someone else I knew.

"It was Marik, wasn't it?" The black-haired kid had an identical look of unimpressedness and the same dour tone. I winced.

"…Yes."

"You are _utterly_ useless, Callaghan." Seto repeated what he'd said the first time I'd been confronted by Marik. I rolled my eyes and looked to Ishizu for at least a little support. The woman raised an eyebrow at me as if to say, '_Your problem, you fix it._'

"Hey! He was going to kill Teá!"

"So you _valiantly _stepped in to save her? Isn't that Moto's job?"

"Oh shut up, I wasn't thinking at the time."

"You _never_ think of the consequences, Callaghan. Your complete and utter lack of rationality in the face of danger is astounding."

"I obviously did _something_ right! I'm not _dead!"_

"Yet." The one word he answered with was utterly deadpan and stopped me right in my tracks, after all, what could you say to that? I sighed angrily.

"I want my shoe back." I snapped petulantly at him, folding my arms and then unfolding them just as quickly, not liking the fact that I was getting blood onto the other arm of my blouse. He looked back to Ishizu, ignoring me and walking away, back to the blimp.

"I don't think you deserve it back yet, Callaghan." He said calmly as I gasped indignantly.

"Screw _deserving_ it! It's my bloody shoe! I bought it with _my_ money!"

"And you threw it at me with _your_ immaturity. Maybe when you stop putting yourself in needless danger I'll give you your shoe back."

"…Are you _worried_ for me?" I asked, after thinking that sentence over in my head. Whatever answer I may or may not have received was scuppered by the fact that Ishizu now spoke to stop Seto and Mokuba from boarding the blimp.

"You don't believe Yugi can win, do you? That is why you run away now." She spoke like I'd always imagined a Seer in a fantasy game or book to speak. Barely any contractions and a convoluted manner, but it worked with her mainly serene tone. Seto stopped in his tracks and turned to face her.

"Indeed." He said, sounding almost respectful of her…at the very least he didn't sound on the verge of an insult, though he did carefully ignore me. Mokuba on the other hand took his brother's momentary distraction to take my bandaged hand and inspect it.

"Did you feel the stitches give at any point?" He asked me, sounding scarily like a doctor for a twelve-year-old. I paused, thinking back before shaking my head.

"Nope. He was more focussed on my neck to be honest." My attempt to lighten the mood went down about as well as a lead balloon, Mokuba raised an eyebrow at me before letting go of the one hand and examining the other for a second. He finished glaring at the dried blood under my nails and that was smudged on my fingertips with a sort of professional detachment that I hadn't expected from the smiley, energetic kid, but that made sense when I thought about it. He was, after all, a Kaiba.

"Why did you get blood all over you hands?" A stern glare from around about my hip height would have made me laugh had it been from anyone else, in this case however, I answered as promptly as I would have had he been that blond doctor from earlier.

"It's a shallow cut, I just smeared the blood away from it so that it could breathe and heal quicker."

A glare from _both _brothers, even though one had to look over his shoulder and away from talking to Ishizu to do so.

"Well it _worked_" I huffed. Mokuba rolled his eyes before smiling at me as Seto sighed once more like he was contemplating murder, once again signalling for Mokuba to follow him to the blimp.

"You're not even sticking around!" I asked, shocked that he wouldn't even stay for the finals of his own Tournament. He shook his head without stopping or looking round.

"I don't care what happens now, _my_ Battle City is over."

"…Huh. _That's_ self-centered."

"Yugi needs _your_ help and power behind him to win, Seto." Ishizu cut across the beginning of another banter session, bringing it back to the immediate problem of the here and now. He stopped and snorted.

"_That's_ a joke." His voice suggested anything _but_. "Let's go, Mokuba."

"…Pereto Kerutu." Ishizu didn't even shift her gaze from the rock behind me to look at Seto, but he stopped in his tracks again, and the way he did so made me think that those words meant something important.

"Uhm…" I started before being cut across by Ishizu again.

"You know what that means, don't you Seto? Those words that were written on the stone?" She now turned to look at him as both Mokuba and I were left in utter confusion as to what on Earth was being said. "The stone was found in an ancient Pharaoh's tomb." She glanced at me, _Yami?_ I thought, knowing the only reason she'd look at me would be because I knew something. "Those words were written there, a prayer for the dead." She glared back at Seto. "It was written in the language of a friend." He snorted and turned away from her as she turned to fully face him, getting more passionate in her speaking. "Only a friend would have written those words and only in that script! The sorcerer that was on that stone was _you_ 3000 years ago just as the Pharaoh was _Yugi_ 3000 years ago! They fought, but were _friends_! Exactly like now!" She finished her highly impassioned explanation to a distinctly _un_rapturous reception. Seto laughed at her scornfully.

"I don't have any f-"

"Can we cut the bullcrap right now, hun?" I asked mockingly, "You have friends whether you like it or not. One of them has the spirit of an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh in him, whether that is logically possible, rational or even has the common decency to _not_ bugger around with my world view, _or not_. And, last but by no means least, everyone on this bloody island seems to have some kind of connection to ancient Egypt." I sighed, "Through a giant rock or not." He glared at me as if to say, '_And I thought you were sane.' _He looked away from me and back to Ishizu, a second chance before he stormed off. Huh, maybe she was right when he said I could sway his mind slightly. Though it was more 'shoving' than 'swaying.'

"I don't care about words written on a stone 3000 years ago, Ishizu."

"You should, they're the reason you built Battle City."

A deadly pause as the one who _thought_ he knew everything came up against the one who probably _did_ know everything. All about the reason he built the one thing he wanted to kill the memory of Gozaburo with.

Ishizu broke the ice first.

"You built Battle City under the guidance of the Gods. The battle between the holder of Ra and the Pharaoh was always destined to happen. But he is only capable of winning if _you_ are there also!"

"Did you say 'Pharaoh?' Again? Why do you people insist on this idiocy?" I glared at Seto with complete and utter disbelief. I was a little uneasy after Ishizu had said 'Guidance of the Gods' due to my inherent belief that the Egyptian religion was _not real_. But…if there was the 3000-year-old spirit of a Pharaoh in a puzzle held by a friend of mine…

I was going to have to re-evaluate my Agnostic views when I got back home.

"Are you _honestly_ this narrow-minded, Seto? Or is it just…an act?" I asked wearily, not in the mood to hear the same arguments over and over again. "Open your mind a little, I've had to and I've known them for a shorter amount of time than you!" I gesticulated wildly to accentuate my point, "Seriously, I've seen some _honest-to-_" I faltered, what should I say in place of 'God?' "_Honest-to-God _crazy crap in my time here! I've had to accept it! Why the blazing Baator can't _you?_"

"Because I'm _rational_ and _sensible_ and _far more intelligent _than _you_, Callaghan." He accentuated his words like he was talking to a five-year old and I had half a mind to throw my other shoe at him too. _He'd probably just steal it again._ My mind said bitterly. Instead of saying anything, I just made a disgusted noise and contemplated my new stance on religion. Ishizu seemed to nod her head to me in recognition of my attempt to reason with him.

"Seto." I noticed that tic in his cheek that came around whenever I used his first name appear. Huh. I'd been using his name for quite a while now and he hadn't been _that_ pissed before. _Probably desensitized to it by now. _I thought smugly. "The Duel Tower is a sanctuary you built with your very _soul_. The perfect place for a Battle of the Gods to take place." I don't think Seto heard the last sentence, preferring to get royally angered at the whole 'sanctuary' business. I glanced down and to my left, seeing Mokuba watching like a spectator at a tennis match.

"Sanctuary! _Sanctuary!"_ Seto sliced the air in front of him in a gesture of 'no more.' "This isn't a _sanctuary_, Ishizu. Duel Tower is a symbol of my hate for Gozaburo, one that I planned to destroy when _I_ stood victorious." He glared at the Duel tower like it had wronged him personally. "But that's meaningless now. Maybe I should sink it now…" I choked on one of my lungs and was ignored by everyone present as they were busy staring at Seto like he'd lost his mind. A notion I was willing to entertain. "Mokuba, get ready to start the self-destruct." He said finally, much to my instant chagrin. I hopped over a lump of metal and stood directly in front of him, and inch and a half shorter without my shoes on but doing my best to loom.

"Are you _demented?_" I snarled at him, invading his space, "There are still other people on this island. You'd blow up this place _without informing them?_" My lip curled further than I thought possible as I clamped down on _any_ form of emotion I may have had towards him. He glared back at me coolly.

"I'm sure they'd hear the sirens, Callaghan."

I dropped my shoe and shoved him backwards with both hands to his shoulders, making him stumble backwards several feet by a combination of sheer brute force and the element of surprise. My bandaged hand protested at the exertion

"What a lovely birthday I'm having!" I said, Seto forgotten as I glared at my hand. I laughed a little hysterically as I balled it into a fist despite it's griping, "Slashed in the hand, cut in the chest, had my shoe _stolen_, been offended left right and centre and now! Now a friend of mine shows that he hasn't _actually_ changed in the _slightest_ since a certain event and is _perfectly_ willing to blow everyone else up." I spun in a tight circle, stooping swiftly to collect my other shoe, I spoke over my shoulder at him, making to leave. "And I thought you were getting ever so slightly more _palatable, _Seto."

I was stopped from a dramatic exit by a simple act from the last person I'd expected, considering the situation.

My uninjured hand was caught as I stormed past Mokuba and he shook his head slightly at me before turning to Seto.

"Brother…" He let go of my hand, now sure I would stay, "We…we shouldn't let Yugi and his friends be caught up in the hatred that consumed us for so long…" I looked down at the kid, heart constricting as I knew, I just _knew_ how hard it must be for him to be going against his beloved big brother's words. I glanced over my shoulder to see said brother's reaction. Absolute shock. I inwardly 'hmm'ed' my approval. Good, that had gotten through to him more than a physical shove.

"Mokuba? Wh-"

"I hated them!" Mokuba seemed close to either crying in frustration or screaming at Seto. "I detested them in the beginning! But then Yugi and his friends were compassionate to me, even after all I'd done to them! They accepted me as a _friend_! They helped you save me and I never really thanked them for it and they _still_ treated me as a friend!" He seemed honestly shocked that we'd do such a thing, Mokuba looked down to collect his next thoughts before looking back up to face his brother. "I think that what Joey and Yugi and even Sophie said was true! You don't do anything for fun anymore! You never smile anymore! I loved it when you smiled! But you never do anymore!" _Fuck_. I thought, feeling my heart clench again. "They don't deserve to be caught in our hate…Not after all they've done for us." He glanced up at me for a second and then back to his brother. "And Sophie's stuck around us too." I grunted and turned on my heel again, this time to face Seto. I folded my arms and lightly shoved Mokuba with my hip.

"Only because I've put too much time and effort into _it_ for me to just _leave_." I sniffed and looked away disinterestedly, "It would have been a waste." Mokuba nodded furiously at what I'd said and looked back at Seto.

"Please, Brother! Let go of the hatred and sink the Duel tower later…" He clenched his fists apparently steeling himself for whatever he was going to say next. "Then maybe you can be like the Brother from before."

There was silence for a good two minutes as the two brothers stared at each other, both utterly shocked by the younger's words.

"…In front of the God of Ra, Yugi has a 3% chance of a win." Seto said, walking towards the two of us and looking down to Mokuba, "I have a card that would boost that to 20%. Something he should be able to capitalise on." My heart skipped a little at his words and his tone. He sounded almost…_caring_. I let out a breath I didn't even realise I was holding as the four of us turned to walk to the Duel tower.

"You people are going to cause me some _serious_ cardiac problems."

**~XxX~**

**A/N:**

**If you are wondering where that whole Mokuba rant comes from, I kinda cross-referenced what 4Kids Mokuba and Japanese Mokuba said and did. Actually, I do that for every character, but it's more distinctive with this scence due to just HOW badly 4Kids fucked that one up.**

**~Ava**


	48. Chapter 48

**A/N: As I write this, I have been awake for 72+ hours due to things that could only be sorted out by me needing my attention. I'm being held together by coffee and willpower XD. **

**Also, since I've been so busy lately, I haven't been able to reply to most reviews, I'm getting through 2 reviews a day X_x**

**DON'T REVIEW FOR THIS CHAPTER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO, REVIEW THE NEXT CHAPTER. ¬_¬**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

All four of us carefully ignored each other in the lift, but there's only so long you can ignore someone when they're barely six inches away from you.

Why do you insist on being difficult?" I asked, being completely honest and looking at the back of Seto's head questioningly. He snorted and countered my question with another question, not looking round.

"Why do _you_ insist on being incorrigible?"

"You just proved my point." I sighed.

"As did you." Was the annoying answer. I sighed again at him and closed my eyes, not before shooting a glance to a preoccupied Ishizu.

"Pawn. B4." I said after a moment.

"Bishop. B4." A smirk in his voice, "I take your Pawn."

"Hn." I re-evaluated my current strategy, "Fine, let's take it up a notch." I snickered, "Bishop. B2." I eyed the back of his head again. "I do believe that's Check." This drew his head round to face me, one eyebrow raised.

"Check, Callaghan?" He asked, smirking slightly as I shrugged.

"I take it you were expecting that move?"

"Of course, but I suppose I hadn't figured you for an actual _strategy -"_

" - Lovely - "

" - I assumed you'd try to take my Queen." The look he shot me was clearly to wind me up as I glared at him.

"I actually _can_ do 'underlying strategy' you know. I doubt I'll beat you, but I can certainly back you into more than _one_ tight corner." I rolled my eyes at him, "I've only been playing for four years, you know." I smirked, "Still, well worth it for the look on your face."

"Hm. So it took you four years of study to mildly shock me." He turned away from me again and I could just _hear_ the smirk in his voice. "You're right, you _can't_ beat me." I looked to the other two occupants of the lift for help but received none. Well, what else could you expect from a lift where only two people wasn't wholly preoccupied by something else. I realised something as we exited the lift and wandered up the stairwell.

I had issues.

Of course, that was when Seto threw a _card_ at Yugi and told him to use it in the Duel.

Then I began to think that _he_ was the one with the issues here.

"You can't just _hand_ it to him, like a normal person, can you?" I asked as Yugi shuffled it into his Deck without another word, regardless of the protests from Joey. Seto didn't look at me while he replied.

"Since when have you ever seen me do anything _normally_, Callaghan?" The way he accentuated the word made me realise that 'normality' in his mind was akin to 'idiocy.'

"Less ostentatious than usual?" I hazarded, earning a stifled laugh from Mokuba before rolling my eyes and walking over to my friends. I stood next to Teá as Joey cursed Marik and Kaiba under his breath. Sighing as Teá did and we exchanged a look of utter exasperation. _We_ were the only sane _men_ there.

Roland started the Duel.

**~XxX~**

A Shadow Game.

It was only to be expected from Marik, but I didn't comprehend the utter horror behind it until Ishizu gasped that the Good Side of Marik and the soul of Yugi were chained to rocks and slowly lost part of their spirit body to the Shadow Realm with every life point lost.

We couldn't _see_ anything. Just Marik and Yami Dueling, but Yami kept turning off to his side and speaking, sometimes calling Yugi's name after a particularly hard blow to his life points. I decided to ask Ishizu the burning question as Yami drew a card and set it without even looking.

"How can you see them?" I hissed under my breath, so as not to break the concentration of either Duelist. As much as I would have _loved_ Marik to lose, if he lost he ended up with _just_ the evil, mental part of him. She spared me a momentary glance before looking back to the space next to Marik, clutching a hand to her heart and wincing every time he took damage.

"Those of us that have been chosen by the Millennium Items can see the spirits of the others…" She tailed off and gasped as Yami called something out. I turned my attention back to the Duel.

Yami had activated 'Daemon Sanctuary' in a counter-attack to the Ra/Marik hybrid.

The first time round, Marik fusing with the God card, it had been impressive. But he'd called the chant so many times by now it was starting to grate on my nerves. I scanned each of my friend's faces as I wondered on my sudden apathy. Shock seemed the most prevalent expression, none more so than Seto, which led me to believe that _that_ was the card he'd thrown at Yugi. I carefully looked up at the Duel, deliberately avoiding looking at Marik. I think I had developed a healthy phobia of him since just _looking_ at the vague silhouette of the cloak made me shudder and bile rise in my throat.

And that was when the fireball hit the Daemon Token and practically blinded all of us behind Yami.

By the time I'd lowered my arm from my eyes and squinted over at what was happening I realised that Yami's Daemon Token was still standing, hard to believe considering it only had one attack point, and so was Marik, hard to believe considering that one attack point had been _his_ one life point.

"Wha-" Yami began, looking as thought he wanted nothing more than to leap across the Duel Arena himself and tear into the annoyingly surviving Marik. The latter man laughed madly.

"I used 'Fusion Reverse' before the fireball hit, Pharaoh! It looks like your little tactic wasn't the ending move you'd hoped it to be!" I exhaled at his words, realising the reason for my apathy even though the apparent fate of the World was at stake.

I was emotionally drained. Every last emotion had been wrung out of me, I felt tired and weary and the very fact that the World was at stake over a children's cardgame was the height of absurdity. I didn't cheer because I was terrible at it, I didn't heckle because Marik _actually_ scared me into nauseousness-

"You've resigned yourself to the Darkness, haven't you?" Came the calm voice from my right. I glanced back to Ishizu, who was staring intently at me for an answer.

"Of course not." I answered, sounding affronted. "I am fully supportive of Yami and every move he makes, I am _wholly_ behind him. But I'm terrible at expressing it _and_," I sighed, "I just feel so ineffectual in the grand scheme of things at the moment." I paused before feeling some emotion trickle back into me, like ice melting, "Nothing to worry about though," I said, smile creeping onto my face despite myself, "I get that feeling every time I see something bigger than me." The smile was not due to my words, but due to the fact that I'd turned back to the Duel in time to realise that Yami had three 'Tokens' on the field and was now tributing them. Which could only mean one thing.

"Obelisk!" Yami called at the massive blue Monster that appeared with startling effects, "Attack his life points _directly!_"

I'd never seen something sweeter than Marik get punched in the face by a God.

Except, maybe, his rough landing on his back three feet away from where he had been standing.

"Hell yes!" I yelled, punching the air triumphantly as my friends did the same. I paused afterwards, realising that it was stupid to be celebrating that, considering it meant the Good Side of Marik was probably closer to death than before _and_-

"There's _no_ way he was caught out by Obelisk's attack." Seto voiced my thoughts exactly. I nodded in agreement.

"Hmn…" I mused, "He's got a strategy, I'd bet my right arm."

We were right, unfortunately, considering the fact that Marik activated a Trap card shortly after rising.

"But Trap cards don't work on God cards!" Was the indignant yell from both Joey and Duke.

"Trap _Monster._" Yami breathed, staring at the silver _Slime_ that had been called to the field.

"I activate Trap card 'Holy Slime!'" Marik's face stretched out horribly and I felt myself wince as I tried to not look away from the important development. "This card can _clone_ one Monster from my opponent and gives it three quarter's worth of your Monster's attack points to _my_ Monster!" I'm sure I wasn't the only person who cursed at that. It apparently became worse when he fused it with that blue thing…'_Revival Jam_,' wasn't it made the giant silver clone of Obelisk virtually immortal.

Something that became clear when Yami tried to attack it with the original Obelisk.

It just re-formed.

Marik cackled maniacally, something he was astoundingly good at as it certainly sent a shiver up my spine.

"I'll set a card, Pharaoh and summon Bowganion to the field in defence mode!"

I cringed as Teá spoke my mind.

"Ew. That's just…gross." Bowganion seemed to be a singular eye covered in spikes. With hands. And a bowgun.

"And the best thing is, for every standby, Bowganion inflicts 300 points worth of damage!" Marik pulled at the skin under one of his eyes and stuck his tongue out at Yami. This…was not good, I surmised. Yami drew a card and set it facedown before tributing the guy with the shield and summoning a card that I thought was a joke.

"I summon my Dark Magician Girl!" He yelled, obviously getting ready to attack. I, however was sidetracked by just _how_ skimpy the Girl's clothes were. Honestly, I thought that there was an equal gendered fanbase for the game, but apparently even here sex sells. I'd obviously missed something while I was on my little feminist rant inside my head as Dark Magician Girl was thrown backwards to Yami's surprise.

"Sorry, Pharaoh! I've played Jam Defender!" Marik called across the field, taunting Yami. I looked to my friends for an explanation. The answer came from a little to my left. I whirled on the balls of my, probably extremely dirty, feet at face the Kaibas.

"It re-directs all attacks to the Revival Jam, Callaghan" Seto glanced across to me, "Surely you remember? You _were_ there." He spoke patronisingly at me as I thought back to Strings' Duel. I snorted.

"I must have missed that while I was _in the pond." _I glared at him, "Maybe I would have seen it better if _someone_ had helped me out." I smiled at Mokuba. "But you were decent." Seto snickered at me.

"Then I assure you, Callaghan. The next time you fall into a pond due to your own lack of spatial awareness, I'll fish you out."

"I'll take that as an oral contract you know." I warned, "I have witnesses."

"Don't oral contracts mean something only if they have been agreed upon in your own language?" The question would have seemed innocent if he wasn't smirking at me.

"Oh…shut up…" I said, knowing he was unfortunately right and with a name like his I really, _really_ doubted that English was his first, or even fourth, language.

And just as I was turning back to the Duel to see Yami struggling to stand after another attack from Marik as the latter laughed insanely, I heard the horribly familiar dual tones of Teá/Marik.

"Yu…gi…" The layered voice sounded weak as heck and I pitied him. Before remembering that this was the person who had decided he'd try to _kill us all_, sane or not. I turned away from the Duel fully, rounding on the puppet of my friend. "Don't…hesitate…"

"Don't hesitate to _what_?" I snapped at her/him, folding my arms and glaring into the plain eyes. The head cocked to look at me, if you _can_ see without your pupils.

"You are Sophie?" The voice held no emotion.

"Yes." _Mine_ on the other hand…

"I'm sorry…for what he has done to you…what I have done." The apology was spoken as the eyes flicked to the blood on my blouse. I bristled, what? Did he _feel bad_? Did he want to _make up_ for it? Oh-fucking-well.

"How _dare_ you!" I hissed, unfolding my arms and balling the uninjured one into a fist by my side. "Don't patronise me! Bloody _do_ something about it!" The eyes blinked slowly at me, as if s/he was confused. Then of course, s/he shoved me out of the way and repeated himself.

"Yugi!" More coherent now, as though he'd regained strength. _Probably sucked the strength out of Teá…_ I thought bitterly. Yami turned to face Puppet Teá, as did everyone else.

"Don't hesitate to attack!" Teá's eyes glared at the _other _Marik. "Please! Kill my evil heart, even with me!" My resolve to remain astoundingly pissed off at him wavered slightly, bowing under the weight of possible self-sacrifice. Joey grabbed Teá's shoulders and shook her roughly.

"Teá? ! What are you saying? ! Why would _you_ die? !" Marik paid no attention to the friend of his current puppet, instead pushing Teá's hand past Joey's face so hard he was shoved out of the way.

"I have accepted this fate! Do it!" Marik's voice was forceful now and the bowing of my resolve became so too as Ishizu ran over to her 'brother' and begged him not to resign himself to death.

"Marik! What-? You can't do this!" Ishizu ran to Teá as he looked down, seemingly sad at her distressed tone.

"I'm sorry, Sister…But this is the only way to get rid of my evil heart for good…" I bristled again, this time almost livid. I shoved Teá's arm hard, inwardly apologising to my best-friend for what was probably going to bruise.

"I'm going to repeat what the girl you're controlling has said to me on occasion." I glared at him, "Get a freaking grip." This time I gestured up to where Yami was currently wrestling with how to kill the _other_ side of Marik. "I'm afraid you're just going to have to _trust_ Yami. To _not kill you_." A snarl from me as Yami turned to say something to me, I waved whatever it was away, "He may have _been_ a truly barbaric little man." Glare. "But he's a tad more mature now." The inner _'I hope'_ went unsaid. Marik seemed to pause for a full minute before I was once again looking into _real _eyes. I nodded curtly before turning to face the Duel without another word.

**~XxX~**

Did Yami just take the Obelisk clone as _two_ separate sacrifices of 'Holy Slime' and 'Revival Jam?'

Yes?

Oh good.

And did the other Marik somehow escape the imminent loss that came from an infinitely attack powered Obelisk?

Yes?

Well shag.

So now, as a group, we all began to wonder just _how_ Yami was going to twist this one. The answer came in the form of a magic card he'd already set, obviously a part of him anticipated Marik's annoying survival capabilities. However now we had Yami, with a sure-fire win on hand with "Dusk of All Gods' and the two Monsters needed in the shape of Dark Magician Girl and Dark Magician. And on the other hand we had Marik, fused to Ra and technically a monster, but with one life point left and a good(ish) soul on the line that wouldn't be able to take such an attack.

"This doesn't seem good now, does it?" I asked rhetorically, receiving nods from my friends as we all stared at what was happening.

"Master Marik!"

I wasn't the only one who leapt about half a foot in the air at the sound of Odion's voice from directly behind me, but I certainly _was_ the only one who cussed loudly at the shock. I placed a hand over my sputtering heart as we turned to stare at the supposedly bed-ridden coma patient. He stumbled past us, eyes locked onto the _other_ Marik.

"Odion!" Ishizu reached out a hand to her other brother but stopped when he continued even past her. He stopped finally in front of the Duel Field, sheer force of will keeping him on his feet, I surmised.

"Huh." An almost comedic sight came as the Marik who was still fused from the waist up to the head of Ra folded his arms, "You're still alive. You're actually pretty tough then." Though he _did_ sound severely unimpressed and perhaps a tad bitter. Then I remembered that Odion's unconsciousness was the sole reason for the other Marik's appearance. His sudden _consciousness_ would surely reverse that…

"Even if you're still alive, no matter, my _other side_ is far too weak to try anything now!" The _real_ other Marik laughed at Odion and my theory was promptly squashed.

_Damnit_

"_._Master Marik!" Odion started again, his voice a little stronger in the face of his obvious adversity.

"Are you okay, man? You're not walking too good - " Duke's concern was cut short by Odion stumbling a little and regaining his balance. Joey moved forward to help him but was stopped by Ishizu.

"No." She said quietly, still looking at her brothers, "You mustn't help him. This is something only Odion can do and he must do it without our help." Joey backed down as I eyed the large man warily, he had tried to kill Joey, but he was doing it on the orders of a family member he was wholly devoted to, that would normally be no excuse to me but…I glanced over to a certain other set of brothers. Hnn…

Clean slates for everyone when this was over. _If_. I don't think I could take holding grudges against so many people at the same time.

That didn't mean I'd forget it completely though.

Odion had obviously said something enough to piss off Marik as when I'd finished resolving what I was going to do when (_if)_ this ended, he was thrown back by a blast from the Millennium Rod. He slammed against the exact same 3D projector I had but stood again.

"Master Marik! You're trying to seal your soul away in the hopeless darkness!" Another blast, another hit, another scream of his name from Ishizu as she ignored her own advice and ran to his side. He brushed off her helping hand and stood of his own accord, eyes still fixed on Marik. " But just because you're still lingering in the darkness doesn't mean you can't _live!_" Odion balled his fists, "Life that is not the 'fate' of a Tombkeeper, but a _human_!" Another hi-

"ARGH!" Marik screamed as Odion braced himself for another, possibly final, blast from the Millennium Item, but his anger turned into what sounded like _actual pain_.

"What the hell?" Tristan voiced what we were all thinking and I shrugged.

"I have no idea, but the bastard Marik's in pain and that's just _brilliant_." I said, hovering on the edge of a smile.

"No! You can't be this _strong_!" Marik screamed again, both hands covering the eye he appeared to leave behind to guard his one life point each time he fused with Ra. When his hands came away a collective gasp went up from my friends.

Two eyes.

Two _completely different_ eyes.

One of which was, quite clearly, the 'Good' Marik's.

"Yugi! Attack me quickly! Quick!" A different voice too it seemed. The voice that 'Namu' had had _and_ the voice I had heard so many times before, layering over Teá's. It appeared that the actual Marik was fighting for full control of his mind and body. "I have done so many things! But a human always has a chance for hope! And I shall bare the crimes I committed and hope for a better future!" I have never hated someone more for changing my opinion of them so rapidly before.

"You bastard!"

This gave me a whole new idea as to what 'arguing with oneself' meant.

"No!" Another clenched fist, "Yugi! Do it! Now!" Yami seemed torn as he looked up at the Ra/Marik/Evil Marik hybrid, but I guessed Yugi had a hand in what happened next.

"I trust in you, Marik! I shall trust in your one life point and that you shall return!" One dramatic magic card call out later and the word was no longer shadowy black. It was orange.

And had the spirits of all the Duel Monsters Yami had in his graveyard swirling around it.

A Kuriboh gambolled about me for a few seconds, 'Kwee'ing.' In spite of the current situation, I _really_ thought that was cute. The spirits of Obelisk and Slifer wrapped themselves around Ra, carrying it into the seal that had materialised when Yami played the card along with the other spirits. I willingly suspended disbelief for the moment about _how the blazing hell_ this was possible and instead hoped for the best.

Smoke lingered.

"Did it work?" Joey asked, standing and trying to see through the smoke.

"Is Marik okay?" Teá's voice from a few feet to the side of me, but like hell I could see her.

"Did we win?" Tristan's question this time and the smoke was thinning so I could _just_ make him out. Another voice from several feet way.

"No. Marik still has one life point left." I decided not to say anything about the fact that Tristan had said 'we' and Seto had answered, he'd only deny it anyway.

The smoke cleared.

And a normal Marik was standing.

Panting, obviously in pain and tired from the exertion, but most certainly not his evil side. He tore the cloak that was favoured by his other half off his shoulders and threw it away as his siblings cheered. I felt myself smile.

"Yugi! I still have one life point left! This Duel is over yet!" A pause as the two Millennium Item holders were distracted by their spirits. Marik had obviously had enough of his. "Quiet! The evil that bred from my heart does not define me! I'll bury you with my own hands!" With the declaration of a new beginning, Marik placed his hand over his Duel Disk.

"Wha - " My question was cut short by Seto.

"He surrendered, Callaghan, his life points are reduced to zero," A glance at me, "Did you honestly do _no_ research?"

I would have retorted had the actual brightness of the _real_ sky not blinded me and I realised what that meant.

"He won!" Teá's punch to the air was followed by Duke, Tristan and Joey clambering onto the, still raised, Duel Field. Teá and I, however, waited until it sank back into the floor before congratulating Yami on his win. I remembered my inner truce and sighed, I followed in Teá's congratulatory footsteps and hugged Yami. I pulled back from the hug and glared at him.

"You _are_ slightly more mature now, right?" I asked, holding him at arms length and checking his eyes for hesitation. His answer was to laugh and nod. "Good." I stepped back to be level with Teá.

"Yugi!" Our collective attention was drawn away from Yugi and towards Seto. Arms folded and glaring at us all. "You won the title of 'King of Battle City' fairly." The words would have sounded perfectly fine coming from anyone else, anyone who wasn't acting as though every word was personally offending him. Which U knew they _were_. "And as the host, I congratulate you."

"Yugi, you can take one of Marik's cards now!" Mokuba however, seemed to be the perfect antithesis to his older brother, actually seeming happy that Yugi had won. Marik nodded and walked over to us, handing Yugi the final God card. I glared at him. I forgave him while they were Dueling, but like hell I was about to forget any of the shit he'd put me through. My hand twitched and I absently rubbed the healing cut on my chest. The movement drew attention as Marik frowned a little at my cut.

"I apologise." Two words from a person that last time he'd said it I'd attempted to hit him. This time I merely pursed my lips.

"You're forgiven." I said haughtily. He seemed surprised that I'd say something like that but nodded anyway. He turned back to Yugi.

"And your friends that were banished to the Shadow Realm have been returned." Joey whooped as Yami nodded his approval. Ishizu said something too low for us to hear as Marik nodded and pulled off his shirt.

_Ahem_.

I decided it was best for me to go check on the people that were supposedly awake.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: adgsryjhnbszdf This chapter, as much as it is long and fairly okay, I want you to go RIGHT on to the next one. The next one shall be uploaded sometime today and NEEDS you to review it. Not this chapter, you don't have to review this chapter GOOD GOD NO, just go onto the next one. ¬_¬**

**NEXT CHAPTER. GO GO GO GO GO, SUPER ROBOT REVIEWING TEAM HYPERFORCE GOOO.**

**~Ava**


	49. Chapter 49

**A/N: RIGHT PEOPLE. AS YOU CAN GUESS BY THE FUSS IN THE LAST CHAPTER, WE'RE AT THE END OF THIS ARC, RIGHT? WELL, I NEED ALL OF YOU LOVELY READERS TO MOBILISE AND REVIEW THIS CHAPTER.**

**SERIOUSLY, IT'S IMPORTANT. THIS PSYCH-UP IS NOT LYING, THIS IS ONE OF THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT CHAPTERS POSSIBLE AND I NEED FEEDBACK. SERIOUSLY.**

**REVIEW.**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

I pushed past the Kaiba brothers to get to the stairwell, hiding my blush and telling myself that 17-year-olds really shouldn't be that ripped. I had already whispered to Teá that I would 'well I'm just going off to check on the others now BYE!' Very hastily, so she knew where I was going. Once I had run into the hospital wing of the blimp about ten minutes later I laughed.

Mai was looking out of the window to her hospital room.

Serenity noticed me wheezing in the doorway and smiled broadly.

"Sophie! Yugi won, right?"

"Yes." I said as Mai turned to see who was there, "Yep, he won alright! And everyone's actually alright!" I placed a hand to my side to ease the oncoming stitch. "I came to check on all of you actually! Have you seen Ryou?" I asked as Mai shook her head.

"No, not at all." She smiled at me, "Serenity said that you helped watch over me for a while, thank you." I smiled a little wider at her words and shook my head.

"Nah, you're welcome. But Serenity was the dedicated one!" And before anyone could answer I ran off in search for Ryou. His room was my best guess.

**~XxX~**

The only other Englishman on board seemed to be perfectly fine, save for a little shocked that I hugged him and then rather hungry. I used the knowledge that Serenity had passed onto me to tell him where the kitchen was. About five minutes after that and I walked into my friends who were now going off to check on Mai themselves. I joined the troupe and frowned when I saw Mai back in the bed, eyes closed, covers pulled up to her shoulders.

And then Joey started begging and pleading and pledging _anything_ just to get her back.

_Ah_.

She opened her eyes and started laughing uncontrollably as Serenity and I did the same. In the middle of giving the blond a noogie she winked at the two of us.

"That was an _amazing_ idea, Serenity! He really fell for it!" Joey looked over at is sister, seemingly hurt.

"Serenity! How _could_ you? !" He yelped as Mai snickered and shoved him off the bed so she could get up.

"I'm sorry big brother! But the look on your face was really worth it!" She started laughing again as Joey slumped, defeated.

I directed them to where to find Ryou when Teá asked after him. It was when Yugi made a flippant comment about getting the blimp up and running that I changed the course of my day fro a second time.

Entering the control deck it was obvious that something was wrong. I frowned and looked around for someone to ask, Roland was the only one I could say I knew.

"Uhm." Was all the question I needed it seemed as the sun protectors turned to look at me.

"We can't start the engines and the President and Young Master are nowhere to be seen!" Ws his frantic reply as beep and whine sounded when he pressed another button. It took me a moment to realised who the 'President' and 'Young Master' were.

_Ahhh shit._

I spun on bare feet and ran.

I knew where they'd be.

I hoped.

**~XxX~**

I had been right.

"So." I started, glaring at Kaiba and storming out of the lift. The big red button had called me when I'd first boarded the glass cage, remembering the whole 'hangar' tidbit I'd gotten from Mokuba. I spotted something made of red leather and black plastic on the console next to Seto. Two heads turned to face me, one looking a little shocked and the other looking _very_ annoyed. _Good_, I thought to myself. _Serves them right._

"Ca-"

"Shut up!" I partially screeched. "How dare you! How _actually_ dare you! _Actually_ how dare you! How did I come across you?" I pointed at him, "I don't remember ever putting an advert in '_Cretin Monthly_.' '_Berk Weekly_' Was it?" I had, by no means, finished my rant, but I _had_ needed to catch my breath, and that's when he took advantage of my silence.

"Callaghan, I'm going to ignore the fact that you somehow knew where we were, but I gave you all fair warning and an hour's worth of time to desert this island." Kaiba glared back at me. Mokuba frowned at me.

"Why're you still here? You guys should have already left by now, Soph." I decided to tackle Mokuba's question first, calming down for a little while.

"Nope, the blimp's died and it's refusing to leave without the two of you." I sighed and shook my head, "We'll take the helicopter that arrived for Joey I hope. It'll be fine. But _you_." I turned to face Kaiba and hissed. "You absolute, bona-fide, _jerk_. How _dare_ you." I paused, motioning between the two of them, "How dare the _both_ of you, actually, but mainly you."

"Callaghan, you had better start making sense in the next half-hour-" I didn't let Kaiba finish his sentence because I'd barked a laugh.

"Or _what?_ You'll leave without informing anyone, like the two of you were going to already?" I asked, letting all of my bitterness come out in my voice. I narrowed my eyes at both of them.

Silence.

"You're angry because we didn't say goodbye?" Mokuba asked. I paused.

"NO! I'm angry because, thanks to your lack of a departing statement, your employees are thinking that you're still waiting around on the island! You can't just assume that they're going to _know where you are!_" I sighed, anger leaving me at the looks on both of their faces. Of all the things to render them speechless…"I think everyone's looking for the two of you, Roland's probably told them too, so they're _risking their lives_ I might add, and neither of you even bothered to say goodbye or inform us that, no, you _weren't_ missing but you _did_ have other means of escape." I threw my hands up, "Do you know just how worried they are? I am?" I barked a laugh again and glanced at Kaiba, "This makes your whole 'No friends' thing, _bull_."

"Callaghan, get out, there's twenty minutes left." Was the brisk and tragically disinterested answer given as a large, what I had previously assumed to be a wall, opened up. I sighed for the third time in as many minutes and rolled my eyes.

"Fine." I said, catching Mokuba by surprise and reaching down to hug him awkwardly. It appeared, along with a clean slate, I was hugging a lot more recently. "Bye kid, you're only person under the age of fourteen I can actually stand to be around." I smiled at him as he raised an eyebrow.

"Catchy." He answered as I gestured to him.

"See? Normal. I like you." I turned to Kaiba as his brother ran to the lift and started keying something into it. I became serious at the look he was giving me. It clearly said '_go away_.' "You're not going back to Japan are you." I stated, not really a question. After all, if they _were,_ they'd take the blimp too.

"No."

Where're you going?"

"America." The answer was brief and the look he gave me before walking away was one that told me that was all I was getting as an answer. _Bastard_, I thought as I took several steps forward to catch up with him, grab his wrist-guard and step forward so that we were inches apart when he turned to face me, eyebrow raised in mild annoyance.

_No! No, no, no, no SOPHIE this is a BA-_

I grabbed his stupid collar.

When I was a little girl I used to dream about what my first kiss would be like, and I have to say, I always imagined it with fewer angry tears, less of me screaming against the idea and a more responsive recipient. I hadn't thought that I'd have chosen to kiss whomsoever the other person was because it was better than the alternative of me strangling him for his insensitivity. I'd had a list of things my first kisser would be: Emotionally-engaged, animal-lover, charming, loving, caring, tall, handsome, witty, intelligent, blue-eyed, brown-haired, arroga-_shutup shutup shut up._ I stepped back and let go of his collar. Well, at least I'd managed to break his indifferent mask, 'pure shock' was a welcome change. I cleared my throat.

"Well, that was disappointing in a wide variety of ways." I smiled a little, knowing that what I just did was probably the greatest mistake of my life so far but not actually _realising_ it yet. And with that pithy, memorable parting line and lovely thought…I bolted, snatching my shoe from the console.

**~XxX~**

By the time I was back at normal level I was surprised that I didn't have a concussion, I'd slammed my head repeatedly against the glass of the lift. "When I wake up," I announced to the lift at large, "I'm going straight to therapy." I hopped on my feet for a moment, reuniting my shoes as a pair on my feet before running down the pathway to the blimp. I paused.

Why were my friends panicking about the blimp still?

"Uhm, guys? !" I called, standing level with the helicopter and staring at the group of frantic people. Teá turned to face me, surprised.

"Sophie? ! Where were you?" A seconds pause, "You have your shoes! Wait-"

"Hey! We could use the helicopter to escape!" Joey's exclamation left me standing in shock. Seriously? Had they not noticed the giant helicopter? As we boarded I asked Yami that same question.

"We were looking for Kaiba and Mokuba, no. No we didn't."

"Honestly? You didn't see the _giant_ helicopter?" I asked, on the verge of a laugh, Yami looked over to me as though I was horrible for laughing at that.

"Sophie! Kaiba and Mokuba are still down there! They're going to _die!_"

_Oh yeeaahh…_

"No they're not!" I answered brightly, deciding that the best way to deal with what happened ten minutes ago was to ignore it's existence and act like a retarded unicorn. "They're perfectly fine. How _else_ do you think I got my shoe back?" Yami paused to look down at my feet before looking back at me.

"How did you find them?" The question was posed cautiously.

"Eeh, Mokuba already told me they had a _hangar_ under the Duel Tower, I just did the math once Roland told me they weren't around."

"Well, you could have _said_ that, Soph." Was the indignant reply from Joey before we were all thrown sideways in the airborne helicopter.

"It's gone!" The yell from Teá made us all scramble to the windows, seeing the _entire_ island sink into the ocean. I wasn't the only one who gasped at the sight of such a large land mass suddenly _not being there_ anymore.

And then the Blue Eyes White Dragon rose from the smoke and I slammed my forehead against the glass in exasperation.

"-The fuck?" Joey's question hung in the air as the thing hovered alongside us, revealing itself to be a jet.

In the shape of a Duel Monster.

"You have issues." I said to the pilot of the _thing_, jumping slightly when he actually _replied_.

"I think I could say the same of _you_, Callaghan."

A pause.

"Hnnmm." My truly eloquent answer was as a result of my brain giving up for the day and retiring to the Maldives. Mokuba saved me the embarrassment of not-saying-anything-or-even-looking-directly-at-them.

"Hey, brother! They're on the helicopter!"

"Mmm, the blimp really doesn't like you people, does it?"

"You bastard!"

"Oh, the mutt's on board too…pity…"

"You owe me a phone, you know." I regained my voice (and stopped Joey from exploding with sheer rage) at the thought of my phone, still in it's hiding place on the blimp. "And my _keys_ oh _god!" _I gasped at the thought before calming slightly, spare keys were in abundance at home… Joey had already stormed into the pilot's cabin to snatch the radio from it's holster on the dash. Obviously wanting direct contact.

"We almost _died_ and you _laugh_ at us? !"

I sighed and walked to the back of the helicopter, away from the voices, ready to reign in the homecoming with my own special brand of utter embarrassment and self-loathing.

This _would_ be fun.

**~XxX~**

**A/N: I hate this chapter so much it hurts, BUT GODDAMNIT, YOU NEED TO REVIEW THIS SHIT. THIS CHAPTER. REVIEW. YOU KNOW WHICH PART. ¬_¬ I DON'T CARE IF YOU'VE NEVER REVIEWED BEFROE OR IF YOU'RE NEW. REVIEW THAT PART. ¬_¬**

**I love you all.**

**~Ava**


	50. Chapter 50

**A/N: Right! Thank you all! (Especially Lurker, who actually _did_ make me breathe and calm down XDD) I don't feel that the last chapter is the Minefield of Sueness I thought it was. Maybe I should have taken a step back, right? I mean, it's been 49 chapters before they kissed XDDD**

**LIGHTEST INK: Vell, my darling, I'm doing ALL the arcs aren't I? So the next one is~~DOMA/WAKING THE DRAGONS.**

**THAT'S RIGHT MY FRIENDS. DARTZ TYME.**

**Y'know, after some original filler chapters. XD**

**~XxX~**

My friends and I all split up once we got to the Plaza after landing at, well, KaibaCorp, and going back to our houses after three weeks when I thought it would be four. Fortunately I arrived to an empty house, this was fortunate because Mum would have surely clipped me round the ear. While she was generally patient, the last time I'd run away she'd done the same. And that was when I'd only gone to Gran's, not on a blimp in the middle of the sea with people she barely knew while being completely uncontactable.

I'd probably deserve that clip.

Running up to my room after calling out to see if there was anyone home that I'd missed, I caught sight of myself in the tall mirror that was propped up against my wall and sighed.

Was _that_ how I'd looked for the past day?

_Jesus, Mary and Joseph in a bloody pear tree._

My blouse looked like I'd taken to the 'ripped shirts and zippers' fashion that had been around in the nineties before stumbling into the set of a zombie movie and being pawed at by the extras. Amongst other things there was a _very_ clear bloody handprint on my collar where I'd pulled it away from my neck.

My hair was so horrifying I wasn't even going to dignify it with a response.

Dark circles under tired eyes.

I yawned.

All in all…I looked terrible, felt exhausted and could _feel_ the possibilities of nightmares about that madman holding a sharp blade to my neck.

I snatched my track clothes from their usual space under my pillow and stumbled haphazardly to the main bathroom for a well-deserved soak…and epilation.

**~XxX~**

An hour later I was grime-free, hairless, my feet were rubbed raw to get rid of all the dirt and I was certainly more awake than before. Now I just had the problem of the bandage over the stitches on my hand. Going into the kitchen yielded a full roll of gauze and rummaging in the downstairs-bathroom cabinet turned-up a half-used roll of zinc tape. Five minutes after _that_ and I was sat at the island in the kitchen feeling a distinct sense of loss.

My friends…

My…_person_…

I felt useless now. In the space of two and a half hours I gone from helping save the world to slouching about the house in trackie bottoms and a vest-top. The anti-climax was interstellar, how did Teá and the guys stand this? ! And all over a bloody children's cardgame. The fate of the World had hinged on a cardgame made for children.

A light bulb should have materialised above my head.

I snatched a bottle of Lucozade from the fridge and bolted up the stairs to get my laptop.

Children's cardgames decided the fate of the Earth (and our lives) more than once according to Yugi, so maybe it was time for me to at the very least shunt my skepticism to the side and actually _learn_ it.

In lieu of my champion friends, Google, it would have to be.

**~XxX~**

I woke up with my head, hair and arms splayed across my desk and my starter deck scattered around me_._

I'd come to a conclusion.

This children's cardgame was a load of bollocks.

But it had a basic set of rules and I _was_ more of a visual learner when it came to sport and other games, so maybe it was the way I was approaching it?

Wait.

I just _woke up_?

But my laptop clock said it was 8PM…

And I hadn't been woken up by someone else…

"Mum?" I called uncertainly after staggering into the hallway on still-sensitive feet.

No answer.

I called everyone's name to the same effect.

"Hnnn." I made a noise like an angry horse before tromping down the stairs to the phone in the hallway. Had I not been slightly wary of what Mum's reaction would be, I would have phoned her, or Sandra. But I was, so I phoned Teá instead.

"Hello? Who is this?" Her voice was one of the most welcome things since I got back home, apart from the bath and the whole 'sleeping without the possibility of a madman murdering us all.'

"Teá, it's Sophie."

"What? ! But your number-"

"Is the home number, phone got blown up, remember?"

"Oh yeah…Wait, why're you phoning?" Teá sounded preoccupied, something that was only to be expected after such an emotional war zone.

I paused. Was I phoning because I wanted to know if she could ask her Mum where my family was? No…not really, I wasn't worried for them, they could just be… doing… something. _That's really shabby reasoning you know._ My brain chastised me for my cowardice. In all actuality, I just needed some time in the house on my own and I wasn't about to change that. I _was_ worried about not being prepared for the next time a demented person tried to take over the world. Which seemed to happen a lot around my friends.

"Can we all go to Yugi's? I have a favour to ask…"

**~XxX~**

**Two Months Later**

"I tribute my Legul to summon my Kazejin!" I set the card down and flipped the magic card I'd had set since the first turn. "I activate Tribute to the Doomed and discard…" I paused and glanced down at my hand cards, "Parrot Dragon to the Graveyard to destroy your Thousand Dragon!" Joey winced as he moved the card to his Graveyard. I shifted on the tarmac and tried to find a dignified position to sit in, opting in the end to copy Teá and fold my legs to one side. Did I mention that I'd taken to wearing the girl's uniform? "And now, beautiful friend, I'm afraid this is the end~" I was feeling smug and sing-song despite my leg insecurities. I had found out a week into trying out the female uniform at Teá's request that you could get blue skirts that stopped a little above the knee rather than at the arse and had decided to wear _them _instead. "Ow! Bugger." I rubbed one knee after getting gravel lodged in it. Didn't mean it didn't make me any less pissed off by their impracticality.

"Uhh, Soph, Kazejin only has 2400 attack points." Joey frowned at me, obviously suspecting something. "I've got 4000 life left." He laughed and looked down at his cards. "You've got 800 _and_ every card in my hand has over 1500 attack! _You're_ gonna hafta do _my_ grunt work with Tristan!"

Ah yes, our wager: the person who lost this non-practice Duel would do the other's clean-up work for the month.

I grinned.

"Oh put your mop where your mouth is Joseph! I play three magic cards! The first of which…Stim-Pack, the second _another_ Stim-Pack and the _third_, my lovely, lovely workmate is to be your downfall~" I placed the two Stim-Packs down and then brandished the third card. "Sword of Deep Seated!" I placed it on the mat that was between us, Teá's, Yugi's, Tristan's, Joey's and my bags holding the paper down on the school grounds so it didn't fly away. I looked over to my Jedi Master.

"That's a really good move, Soph! I didn't think you'd have the chance to draw all three!" Yugi had assumed my role of Switzerland and had been cheering us both on. Tristan and Teá, however, seemed to be having an insurmountable amount of fun with taunting Joey in good humour.

Speaking of the blond…

"What does that do?" He leant across to read the card upside-down, his lips moved along with the words silently before he groaned and placed his hand cards on the ground behind him.

"Well, since you asked so nicely," I smiled, "Stim-Pack is a horrible card to have, and two of them are a bitch to play in the first turn, _buuut_~~" I sang again, setting the Sword card down next to the other two, "at the _very_ end of a Duel they are _awesome_. 700 A.T.K P's added _each_." I enunciated each letter like it had a capital, "_Anndd_ my Sword gives 500 _to both_ my A.T.K's and D.E.F'S! Sooo…" I clapped my hands together in a really immature display of childish glee, but I didn't care, I was close to doing what I had only managed once before. "Kazejin gets a boost of 1900 attack points and that makes him one Hulk of a Duel Monster! 4300 points to your 4000 life points?"

A pause.

"Nice one, Soph!" Joey's grin as he started returning all his cards to his deck made mine wider.

"Haven't you forgotten that you're now doing her clean-up stuff, man?" Tristan seemed to be thinking of things he could ask me to get Joey to do. The guy in question paused before groaning again.

"Aww man, I'd just forgotten about that!"

"You won't be forgetting it for a while, Joey!" Teá laughed from my direct right. She'd been eating something out of a Tupperware box with chopsticks as we Dueled and had taunted Joey after he'd said he'd go easy on me because I was a novice by telling him he'd get no more food if he didn't treat me like a man.

I leant across the mat and hugged him, laughing.

"Well, twice out of, like, thirty isn't that bad huh?" I referred to how many time's I'd won against how many times he'd won against me. He offered me a high-five after I pulled away, I turned it into a handshake. Well, they may have made me a more huggy, slightly more informal person, but I _was_ still me.

"And next time it'll be twice out of thirty-one!"

We all stood, brushing off our clothing (legs in my case) and picking up our bags to head home when Yugi pulled three shiny things out of his bag.

"Soph! These are for your birthday!" I glanced at what he was holding out to me, three booster packs. I took them as we started walking as a group.

"Thanks, Yugi! But-"

"It's late." Said Teá, lightly jabbing Yugi in the side as he blushed.

"Well you didn't like Duel Monsters at first and I really didn't know what else you lik-" I gave him an awkward half-hug which was the best thing I could manage for our height difference.

"And now I'm a fully paid-up member of the Duel Monsters fan brigade aren't I?" I smirked. Yep, once I'd phoned Teá and asked them all to meet me at Yugi's I'd explained that I was going to take steps to be prepared for whatever would happen _next-time_. They'd shifted nervously and said they'd hoped there wouldn't _be_ a next-time. I'd then pointed out there'd _always_ be a next-time if there was an Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh in our group of friends.

And then I'd thrown myself into studying it, playing it, learning _everything_, watching _every Duel _on Youtube or on DVD or even VHS, fully immersing myself in the whole sub-culture.

My school-work was secondary now. Besides, it wasn't like I paid attention in class anymore, I still got fairly good grades, not as good as they would have been if I wasn't concentrating on something else, but only because I either knew what they were talking about or got the notes from someone else in class. I didn't have many classes with my friends, maybe one a week, but the rest of the week _had_ had a presence that I'd… _liked_…

The Kaiba brothers were in America.

In _America_.

I hadn't thought that I'd find it so _odd_ in class without having someone around who was constantly pissing me off or sarking at me. But it was and I did.

However, a week after we'd all returned to Domino I'd had a package thrown at me by a grumpy postman who'd barked at me to sign a clipboard and then buggered off to make some other poor sod's day start at 5:30AM.

I was back in my room before I'd finally noticed the 'KC' on the side of the box.

Suddenly, I felt very awake.

I'd ripped through the security tape and tipped the contents onto my desk. A small blue oblong and two pieces of paper. I picked up the oblong first and recognised it to be a mobile phone of some sort.

Ohohoho, understatement of the year.

I'd flicked the phone open and been greeted by the silver revolving 'KC' insignia before being directed to the home screen. The silhouette of a certain dragon was my default background. I sighed with a strange mixture of exasperation and something akin to fondness. _Honestly_. I set the phone down on my desk again and this time turned my attention to the notes. I opened the smaller one first, the handwriting, even though I'd never seen it before, I guessed it to belong to Mokuba. Somehow I didn't imagine Seto to have almost _hyper_ writing.

How could you get your handwriting to be _hyper?_

_Hey Soph! I know that it was your birthday on the finals so I got Seto to replace the phone you lost, hope you like it!_

_- Mokuba._

What? !

Oh yes…my 'parting words.'

"_You owe me a phone you know."_

Well, the thought was lovely.

"Thanks, kid." I said aloud, feeling a smile creep onto my face. I could just _imagine_ that conversation. I laughed to myself before picking up the other note and opening it.

_I no longer 'owe' you anything, Callaghan._

_While Mokuba was the one to influence me into clearing the 'debt,' I anticipated your temper and as such this phone shall survive being thrown at whatever poor fool angers you next. It can also be submerged for up to 40 feet, a precaution in case you wish to fall into another pond._

_- K_

Huh.

Well.

That was nice of him.

And no mention of anything else?

Well.

That was only courteous, right?

Right?

**~XxX~**

Two months had changed a lot.

And not just my family dynamic.

I'd of course been grounded for life, just as anticipated, when the rest of my family _did_ finally get back from…well, I'll get round to that. Mum had indeed clipped me round the ear, of course then she hugged me and before banishing to my room.

I never _did_ try explaining the _real_ reason we were gone so long. I told her everything else though, leaving out the whole 'insane murderer/virtual world fiasco/end of the world was nigh' thing. But, the very fact that I now had close friends made Mum happy enough to at the very least _not_ follow up on her resolve to transfer me to the Black Rose Academy for Girls. However, I wasn't allowed out of school hours time with them for an entire month.

An entire month, with my only contact with the people I'd survived the Almost-Apocalypse being school and a _stupidly_ advanced phone.

So I did what _any_ sensible, normal, mentally-stable girl would do in the circumstances. I studied cardgames for one thing…and apparently mellowed out for another.

I mean, honestly, this time last year I would have sooner laughed in Joey's face than _hug_ him after winning. Hell, I would have laughed at him _before_, when he tried to teach me Duel Monsters.

Now?

Well, now I was a steadily advancing student in Duel Monsters (nowhere near good enough to beat Joey, Yugi or Teá more times than not, but enough to hold my own for a fair set of turns) not to mention the fact that I was actually more outwardly affectionate with my friends, I had even struck up the odd conversation with Tristan. I was also coming home from school and cooking dinner for the family (y'know, when I wasn't hastily doing homework to keep my grades up) something that both brought us all together at the table to talk about our day like one large family _and_ allowed me to play off the bandage around my hand as me being 'clumsy' with the knife while preparing potatoes, as for my chest cut, that had healed a few weeks after the end of Battle City, but left an annoying scar. But thankfully, since it wasn't a deep cut, it would fade shortly. Until that time, however, I was relegated to turtleneck jumpers to hide it.

I slid my new key in the lock and was immediately attacked by a giant furry thing.

"SASHA! Baby! Darling! Sweetie!" I called at my dog, who leapt upwards, nearly knocking me back with the force of her 'hug.' She tried to lick my face so I pushed her head away and scruffled her behind an ear. She returned to all fours, standing impressively at my waist.

_That's _where everyone was when I came back, they'd all gone to quarantine to get my dog back. When they returned at about 10PM with two sleeping girls and a large Great Dane there had been…raised voices to say the least. For some reason my reaction, instead of something sensible, was straight up belligerence. I put this down to lack of sleep, food and one _hell_ of a month. Unfortunately, that didn't sit well with Mum and had landed me said grounding.

I probably _did_ deserve that.

What _none_ of us deserved, however, was the next day's occurrences.

You know, where we all skipped school to see Yami off before the giant rock became encased in impossible ice and screams from outside alerted us to the fact that Duel Monsters were running rampant about the city.

"I _told you_ there'd be a next time."

**~XxX~**

**A/N: YAY INEFFECTUAL FILLER CHAPTERS!**

**BTW: Black Rose Academy for Girls is a canon Girl's School in Domino City. It's mentioned in Season 0 as being the school which the Freak Of The Week is from. Their uniform is deep purple with a black bow. XD**

**~Ava**


	51. Tease

Guess who's coming back next year?


	52. Chapter 52

**A/N: So it's been a while, huh? I won't reveal the details of my absence, it just involved a lot of things and the death of someone very close to me. But in the last year I've gained and lost great friends, so here's to another, huh?**

**I've got a Tumblr over at 'emotionallyunavailableunicorn' (props if you get the reference), and feel free to drop into my askbox over there.**

**Since January I've been cleaning up a few of the earlier chapters, grammatically and story-wise. No really major changes, just making things flow smoothly.**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

I bit down on the inside of my cheek to stop myself from shrieking curses as a Baby Dragon set fire to my schoolbag and I dropped it in shock.

"It'd take more than one busted Duel Disk to do _this_ to the whole _city_." Came a voice from my left, Tristan being the voice of reason I surmised, shooing the orange hellion away from my unfortunately flammable bag. Teá helped me stomp out a few of the lingering flames as she answered him.

"We're going to have to check on Kaiba. It's the only place where the Duel Monsters data is housed."

I snorted and looked over my shoulder at Joey as I spoke, an Elf Warrior skittering past on the back of some sort of giant millipede behind me.

"I could have _sworn_ he was in America right now, hmm?" Joey rolled his eyes before speaking.

"Stupid dragon jet 'n all, Soph, but it can't hurt to check."

I gingerly picked up my bag by the strap, it held a moment before disintegrating and I sighed heavily as Teá grasped my hand and pulled me along after the rest of the gang, who were already running in the direction of the KaibaCorp tower. We exchanged somewhat withering glances as we ran.

"This happens often, doesn't it?"

"You have _no idea_."

**~XxX~**

The tower had been a dead end, with the swarm of frantic reporters and the rushed bodyguard-cum-spokesperson, we might as well have not gone. But there had been a strange occurrence on the way there, however. Two boys that my friends seemed to know had been standing and staring gormlessly at the sky and the dragons flying there. They had mentioned it was a sign of the end of the world.

Given that it was now evening, I was back home, and there was a small army of giggling dolls with armour on in the back garden, I was inclined to agree.

I drew the curtains as a Time Wizard flew past my window and decided to go downstairs to speak to my Mother, bracing myself for an awkward conversation. For once, I was thankful that Sandra and the children had decided to call it a night earlier than usual, thanks to the sudden Monster invasion.

She beat me to the punch and handed me a cup of tea over the counter, her mouth a grim line as she spoke.

"Sophie. We need to talk." I nodded and took a sip of the Lady Grey, feeling some of the tension in my shoulders loosen up.

"There are Duel Monsters rampaging all over the world, Mother." I exhaled heavily and set my cup down, lacing my fingers around it and staring into its depths. "I have no idea why, but…" I hesitated, feeling her eyes on me. "But these kinds of things are…Ugh." I pressed two fingers from each hand against the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes. I felt a hand on my shoulder after a few minutes has passed in silence.

"You came back different, Sophie." She said simply. I felt myself freeze in place, hoping against hope that she didn't think I had fallen in with the wrong crowd. "You went off with your friends and you came back…" She trailed off. "You've always been so mature in some things. Speaking, your manner, your schoolwork. But when you came back from whatever it was that happened, I felt you had actually _grown up_ for once."

I barked a rough laugh and opened my eyes, looking at my Mother wearily. I hadn't told her about the near-death experiences, had hid my healing stitches from her and even now, made sure my scars were never on show.

"Mum. I don't want you to know everything." I hurriedly amended that sentence. "Not- Not because of anything mean, just…I'm seventeen. If I could tell you everything and know for a fact that you wouldn't have an aneurism, I would. Really. I love you, Mum. But this-" I waved my hand at the Kitchen window as a Thousand Dragon slept calmly in someone's driveway. "This kind of thing is…something that I've seen before." The '_And that probably relies on the Unnamed Egyptian Pharaoh's spirit that lives inside one of my closest friend's head and/or Puzzle'_ remained unspoken.

"Your grades will slip." Mum said, raising an eyebrow at me in mild amusement. I frowned in confusion.

"What?"

"Your absences from school."

I paused a moment as my mind ground its gears, trying to compute what she meant.

"You went away and you came back having grown up, Sophie. So long as you are _safe_-" She stressed the word with a squeeze on the shoulder. "I am willing to look past a little slippage." She pursed her lips. "You have to make it up to me with private sittings of the exams though, if you do leave the school."

_Oh._ I thought.

"Oh." I said.

My phone trilled its way through the first crystal clear bars of Beethoven's Fifth and a picture of Teá flashed on its outer screen.

I excused myself and took the call.

Five minutes later I'd gotten changed into a green shirt, jeans and-

I had hesitated with my hand over my shoes, opting instead for a loved pair of pumps.

I remembered what had happened last time I'd received a call like this.

I would probably need the practical footwear.


	53. Chapter 53

**A/N: To the people wondering if Sophie is going to ever play a more active role in proceedings, I'm really amused. Because I've been planning several things for her in the Doma arc for about a year or so now. A few have been a staple thing for her character in my mind since I created her. So don't worry. I should also mention, 13LuckyWishes (I hope I remembered the right name), I should make it clear now that I have _no issue_ with people using Sophie in things, just so long as I'm sent the link. 8D  
**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

I had greeted Yugi's Grandfather politely when I'd arrived at the game shop, heading upstairs to their TV room and taking a seat between Teá and Joey and taking the proffered apple with a 'thanks.'

"So," I started, taing a bite and chewing it thoughtfully as we all waited for the Kaiba Corp rebuttal. "How much are you willing to bet that this is Bad News and that there's going to be more World Saving going on?"

Yami answered me from two places across on the sofa and looking burdened.

"I felt…a dark power sapping the strength of the God Cards from my hand." He exhaled heavily as Teá placed a hand on his shoulder in quiet reassurance.

"Not to mention the fact that the tablet _encased itself in ice_." Tristan pointed out dryly, shaking his head and eating from the packet of crisps in his hand. I smiled a little, despite the situation.

"It's nice to know that our best bonding times happen when the world is in danger. Everything feels so much more _dramatic._" I said, wiggling the fingers of my free hand at the TV as Joey laughed.

"It's always gonna be like this, guys. Might as well make friends, huh?"

Our laughter and banter ceased a few minutes later, when the Newscaster announced that the head of Kaiba Corp was about to make a statement. The slim line phone in my back pocket seemed to have more presence to me as we stilled, listening to Kaiba's calm and rational argument, the upshot of which was that it was _not_ a Duel Disk causing the Monsters appearances.

"It's some kind of _Magic_ isn't it?" I said the word 'magic' like I had once said 'Card Game.' I would have gotten a response had there not been an alarmed call from downstairs followed by a clattering crash. There was a moment where the five of us looked at each other before simultaneously bolting for the 'shop' part of the house.

**~XxX~**

"Grandpa!" Yugi was Yugi again and the first to reach his guardian, sprawled on the ground with broken games carelessly strewn around. Teá and Tristan assessed the damage to the shop as Joey, Yugi, and I helped the elderly man sit up.

"I'm sorry Yugi, I couldn't-" His voice shook with something halfway between pain and exhaustion and Yugi placed a hand over his Grandfather's, calming him.

"The God Cards?" He asked quietly, fearing the worst. The look he was given by his Grandfather told him all he needed to know. It told Joey, too, who glanced from Yugi to me and back again before standing up and running to the door.

"They're not getting away from me if I can help it!" He yelled over his shoulder as the door closed behind him, a rumble sounded from outside and light flashed through the windows.

"Sophie-" Yugi looked at me and I nodded, understanding. In the course of the past few months we had been back, I had joined the Health Committee at school and spent two lunches every week in the Infirmary. I could, at least, determine if Solomon Moto needed a trip to A&E or not. Yugi thanked me as I propped the elderly man up and the others ran outside to see what the hell was happening.

I led the man to his kitchen and helped him sit on one of the chairs, rummaging around my back-up messenger bag for my first-aid kit. I spent the next few minutes making idle chatter to test for mental awareness and dressing the minor wound on his head before shining a pencil light into his eyes and checking for concussion.

"I'm pleased to announce that I _think_ you're fine, but you'll need someone to watch you for twenty-four hours. Just to be on the safe side." I frowned over my shoulder as I washed my hands in the sink and spoke again. "Who where the-" _bastards_ "-people who were cowardly enough to attack you? Do you know?" Solomon shook his head and winced a little at the motion.

"They were thugs I'd never seen before." He answered before sighing. "This kind of attack doesn't bode well for you or your friends." I scoffed as I dried my hands on a tea towel, fetching two mugs from a cupboard and boiling a kettle.

"Things like this _never_ bode well for us. Teá told me once about Pegasus. I'm sorry you had to go through that." He waved away my words with a hand and took the tea I proffered, blowing on it to cool it down.

"I cannot say I wasn't sore about it at the time, but Yugi got me back. He's a good boy, and will be a better man."

"A fantastic Duelist too." I said with a half-smile as I raised my mug in appreciation, as though it were a wine glass or a tankard of ale. I would have taken my first sip of it too, had Joey not run in without a word, grabbed me by the wrist, and dragged me outside and forced me to run alongside him before teling me what the hell was happening.

"Sorry Soph, but these guys have stolen the God Cards and want Yugi to duel them to get them back. We need you."

I felt something in me twinge at the idea I was now well and truly friends with these people and nodded forcefully as we ran towards some kind of abandoned building. Joey leapt onto a dumpster and clambered up onto the fire exit, holding down a hand that I took without question and pulling me up.

"I thought only people with a connection to the Pharaoh could use them?" I asked, slightly breathless as we ran up the metal stairs to the roof. Joey laughed and reached the roof first.

"No-one told these guys that."


	54. Chapter 54

**A/N: If you ever want to review, please do. I don't bite and since I'm getting back into writing, I will want a little feedback as to how I'm doing.**

**As it stands, I'd like to take a moment to thank absolutely everyone who reads this, I remember reading a review where someone said they re-read this fic twice during a cyclone. You people are all mad and brilliant and I love you dearly for your support and effervescence.**

**It's also important to note that I've changed my Tumblr URL to 'damnithasook' because Korra is fabulous.**

**~Ava**

**~XxX~**

According to what Joey had told me, the duel had once been normal, save for the fact that it was against a strange man in a hooded robe, but a magic card had been played. The Seal of…something. The card seemed to be magic in more than name, and projected a barrier around Yami and his opponent. Teá squeezed my hand when I joined her and Tristan alongside Joey.

"How is it looking? Who _is_ this guy?" I asked, squeezing back.

"I have no idea, he wasn't one of the three guys that confronted us outside the Game shop…" She trailed off and surreptitiously pointed at the roofing behind the man duelling Yami. "Those three up there, however…"

I narrowed my eyes at the men who too far away to hear speaking, but close enough to see their lips move. I didn't like them already.

"And the magic card?" I asked, having learnt when I pressed my hand against it that it disliked intruders. Teá sighed.

"A barrier. And the guy who played it said the loser would have his soul stolen. It's like Duelist Kingdom all over again."

I pressed my free hand to the scar at my collarbone absent-mindedly. Souls were real and stealable. Joy.

"Well then. Yami better win this, huh?" I asked before pressing two fingers to my mouth and whistling like I was at a football match.

**~XxX~**

The man collapsed, the circle of green light having contracted in on him. I let go of Teá's hand, running to catch the man's head before it connected with the cold steel flooring of the roof and broke his skull. All that fuss and we had gleaned only the smallest bits of information. He said the power of the Seal was older than that of the Puzzle.

The others joined Yami and I on the raised platform that had served as a duelling area and yelled at the three men Teá had pointed out to me earlier, as the bulkiest of the three reached into his pocket and pulled out two cards, proclaiming that since Yami had been such a good sport, he'd release the souls of the two boys we'd met earlier. I watched the three leave with a feeling that was both cold and hard, anger condensed like a bullet as I breathed deeply to calm myself. This kind of thing was ludicrous.

Yami knelt next to me and picked up one of the strewn cards from the man's hand as my fingers rooted about his neck, trying to find a pulse. It was weak and thready, but there. Yami showed the card to us and Joey exhaled hard.

"Poor guy's trapped in a card like Pegasus had…" He said, taking the card from Yami, the picture a clear depiction of the man screaming in fear. Teá glanced at me as I stared at the man's paraphernalia, she took the necklace the man had dropped and handed it to Yami, commenting on the energies she felt from it as I closed my eyes and mulled something over with my moral compass.

"It feels…like my Millennium Puzzle…" Yami answered, sounding mildly perturbed.

"Those pricks from the roof, they're going to come back for this man, correct?" I asked, cutting across the gloomy mood that had descended over my friends.

"They didn't exactly seem the _charitable_ type, Soph." Came Tristan's response and I nodded in agreement.

"True, but they also didn't seem like the type to publise themselves…they won't want questions. They'll come back for his-" I hesitated. "-Body." I ran a hand along the man's inner wrist, the one with the Duel Disk. The arm-clamp popped open and I lifted it off his arm. It had compacted down into something a fraction of the size, and it hummed as though organic. His deck remained in place, too…

"I'm not giving them any more edges over us than they already have."

**~XxX~**

After telling Yugi that his Grandfather needed a day of rest and supervision and hugging all four of my friends goodbye, I had returned home to eat dinner in silence with a chattering, if slightly shaken, family. The surreal events of the day had obviously not agreed with Sandra, that was clear in her unkempt hair and the dark circles under her eyes, but the children seemed happy enough. Mother, however, shot me a knowing glance when the conversation topic turned to the masses of Monsters roaming the Earth. I had excused myself once more, somewhat a recurring habit by now, and ventured back up to my room. Making sure all doors were locked or wedged, I proceeded to remove the odd-looking Duel Disk from my bag and set it on my desk. I angled my lamp to shine on it before running my fingers over the underside, searching for something akin to screws or washers. There were no such things.

"Ugh, this is going to take all night, isn't it?" I muttered to myself, sitting back in my chair and rolling my shoulders.

In fact, I studied the Duel Disk for two hours and could see no obvious signs of manufacture. Coupled with the low hum that was consistent with the thing uncovered, I surmised that it had to be somewhat alive, however improbable that seemed. Considering, however, that I had known three people already whose various pieces of golden paraphernalia housed living consciousnesses…It wasn't that much of a stretch.

"The issue here," I mused aloud, to no-one in particular, "Is that they have Duel Disks at all." I paused and tapped the life-point counter with a nail. "It's hardly Kaiba Corp issue…" I hesitated before coming to a realisation that made me stumble for my mobile, dialling Teá and glancing at the clock to see the time as she picked up on the fifth ring.

2am.

"Teá. _Teá. _What if their Monsters aren't holograms?" I rushed, not giving her a chance to scold me for the time or the fact that had most likely woken her up. A few seconds passed as she processed what I'd said and I heard the tell-tale sound of her rising from her bed. When she spoke, her voice was clear of sleep.

"Sophie, what do you mean?"

"Their Duel Disks." I gesticulated wildly, a practice useless over the phone, "They aren't exactly Kaiba Corp, are they? So they're not holograms, _are they?"_

"Kaiba did say that he wasn't the cause of the Monster appearances…" Teá mulled it over for a moment. "They're the root, aren't they?"

I nodded furiously, also useless over the phone. "_Yes_. And what are you willing to bet that they are _also_ the cause of the lovely Egyptian Artefact Popsicle at the Museum?" Teá groaned on the other end of the line, I could imagine her putting a hand to the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

"Just for once, I'd like time off school that _wasn't_ 'Save the world from the Bad Guys.'"

**~XxX~**

Teá and I had talked a little while longer, resolving to tell the others in the morning, before we'd said our goodbyes. Doubtless she was going to catch up on a little of the sleep I'd stolen from her, but I was buzzing.

Before I returned to messing with my stolen possessions however, I would need coffee. I wandered downstairs, taking care to not wake anyone up and reached the kitchen with minimal response from creaking floorboards, shushing Sasha, who slept in her dog basket in the kitchen, and petted her on the head while trying to decipher why I felt a little…off.

I took a sip from my coffee cup and mused a little more, trying to figure out what was missing.

"Oh." I deadpanned aloud. "Fuck."


End file.
